•ECONT COPY, 
1699. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Oliap.r. Copyright No. 

Shelf.J.B.G.<P 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




Cfa^T-T^K- c7. cLO. iy\}lf^.r 



KANSAS: 



INTKKIOII AND EXTERIOR LIFE 



INCLUDING 



A FULL VIEW OF ITS SETTLEMENT, POLITICAL HISTORY, 

SOCIAL LIFE, CLIMATE, SOIL, PRODUCTIONS, 

SCENERY, ETC. 



SAKA T. D.° ROBINSON, 



•JENJH i;i>riioN. 



LAWRENCE, KANSAS : 

Journal Publishing Company, 

1899. 

L 



38799 

Copyri^^ht, i8gg, 

by 

SARA T. D. ROBINSON, 

All rights reserved. 



TW0COF>ihi) kECEIVED. 



Y 0? ' 







PREFACE. 

This work, now offered to the public, has been written 
amid all the inconveniences of tent life. Its pages were 
penned during a three months' residence of the authoress 
in the United States Camp, at Lecompton, with her hus- 
band, one of the state prisoners. 

If a bitterness against the "powers that be" betrays 
itself, let the continual clanking of sabres, and the deafen- 
ing sound of heavy artillery in the daily drills of the sol- 
diery, aids in crushing freemen in Kansas, — -the outrages 
hourly committed upon peaceable and unarmed men, — the 
daily news of some friend made prisoner, or butchered with 
a malignity more than human, — the devastation of burning 
homes, by the connivance of the Governor, under the eye 
of the troops, and no power given them to save an oppress- 
ed people,— be placed in the balance against a severe judg- 
ment. 

If the simple recital serves to strengthen in any the love 
of liberty, or to arouse in others a hatred to tyranny, then 
will its mission have been accomplished. 

" God give us Men ! A time like this demands 
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands; 
Men whom the lust of office does not kill; 
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; 



PREFACE. 

iTcn who possess opinion and .i will: 

Men who have honor, — men who will not lie; 

Men who can stand before a demagogue, 

And damn his treacherous flatteries without winkint; ! 

Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog 
In public duty, and in private thinking; 

For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, 

Th^r large professions, and their little deeds, — 

Mingle in selfish strife, lo ! Freedom weeps. 

Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps ! " 

— y a. iloUand. 



Preface to Tenth Enri'iox. 

In the few last years there has been an occasional call 
for the old " Kansas; Its Interior and Exterior Life," 
published in Boston, in October, 1856. There was a desire 
expressed on the part of some new comer, as well as some 
" old settler," sometimes a stranger as well as friend in re- 
gard to what the earliest pioneers of Kansas endured to 
make it free. The daily discomforts, the privations of life 
in a new country had been faithfully set down day by day. 
That there was the unprecedented cold of the winter of 
.1855-56 one can never forget. The days came when there 
were most harassing arrests of our btst friends, and the 
ever-present fear of some unseen, lurking foe: the robber- 
ies, burnings and killings, the pastime of the hour, under 
the form of law, and without it. Our days were filled with 
forebodings, and our nights with anguish. It at times fill- 
ed all our hearts, lest the morrow's sun should find us 
homeless and friendless, stricken by our enemies, who were 
upheld by the United States government. Darkness like a 
pall, brooded over the whole country. 

In times of peace and plenty, the horrors of continual 
unrest, and watching are difficult to estimate. It is by 



PREPACK. V 

turnino^ back the (Hal of tlie years, tliat tlie participants in 
the struggle can see how thfir courage, j^atiencc. and calm 
endurance won the greatest of victories, over a foe well-nigh 
invincible, and but for the grace of God would have proven 
so. Their manifold blunders, and unheard of atrocities set 
deep and firm our steps upon the upward way. Forty-five 
years, from our small beginning, have wrought a most glor- 
ious state in the heart of this great country. Who can ap- 
preciate its well-chosen motto, '' Ad asira per aspcra,'' with 
deeper feeling than we. 

With sincere gratitude that the early settlers of Kansas 
were enabled by unfailing trust in the justice of their cause, 
and by unyielding steadfastness in their purpose, to win 
the day, I dedicate to them this old book of 1856. made 
new in i8gg and hoping that our joy is mutual, because the 
clear life-giving Light was born of the brooding, sullen 
Darkness of that long Past. 

The bow of Promise is still over us. "The song of the 
reaper is heard again over our prairies, and instead of the 
clashing of arms, we see th(? gleam of the ploughshare in 
her peaceful valleys." 

Sara T. D. Roiunson. 



CONTENTS. 



C H A P T E K I 



INTRODUCTION. 

Great American Desert —Opening of California — Colonel Fremont's 
Route — Kansas — Scenery — Soil — Climate — Extent of the Missouri 
Compromise — Its Repeal — Blue Lodge — Meetings in Missouri, i 

CHAPTER II. 

T?IE FIRST ELECTION AND FIRST INVASION. 

New England Aid Company — First Parties — Lawrence — First Election — 
Census — First Winter — Second Invasion — Protests — Meeting at Leav- 
enworth II 

CHAPTER III. 

EASTERN EMIGRATION BORDER MHN. 

Kansas City, Mo. — Westport — Baptist Mission — Election-day — Threats 
. Against Gov. Reeder- -Members Elect of Legislature — Mission Church 
— Ride to Lawrence — Scenery 27 

CHAPTER IV. 

LAWRENCE. 

Drives in the Country — Calls on Pioneers — First Attendance at Church,. 41 
CHAPTER V. 

KANSAS HOMES. 

Death of Mrs. Taft — Scarcity of Provisions — Arrival of a Friend — A Gen- 
tleman from Massachusetts — Silver Mist — City People in Kansas — 
Spider wort — Company — Sabbath-School — Heavy Showers — Homes — 
Steamer--Election — Tour in the Country — Emigration — Visit to a 
Friend — Hardships of Settlers — Preaching on Capitol Hill — Death of 
Dr Clark, 49 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. 

Cold Weather — roinmunion — Cholera — Rattlesnakes — Sickness — Op- 
pression — A night in an open House and hea\y Shower — Morning Ride 
— Fourth of July — Pro-Slavery Rage — Visit at Dr. barker's— Rumors 
of War — Assault upon Mr. Clark — "Fish's" Company 70 

CHAPTER Vn. 

KANSAS LAWS — GOV. SHANNON. 

Rains — Laws — Government Officials — Convention at La%vrence— Street 
Broils — Leavenworth Herald — Camp Meeting — Gov. Shannon — Hun- 
garian Doctor — Gov. Shannon at Westport — Western Emigrants — Free 
Negro — Gov. Shannon Visits Lecompton — Delegate Convention at 
Topeka — Convention at Lawrence — I^umors of Invasion, 95 

CHAPTER VIII. 

GENERAL DISCOMFORTS — MURDER OF DOW. 

Prairie Fires — Cold — Constitutional Convention — Military Supper — Mr. 
Conway ill — General Sickness — Returned Emigrants — Death of Dow — 
Branson Rescue — Meeting at Lawrence 113 

CHAPTER IX. 

WAKARUSA WAR PREPARATIONS. 

Judge Lecompte at November Court — Grand Mass Convention at Leav- 
enworth — News from the Border — Woodson's Despatch — Reinforce- 
ments at Lawrence — Enemy's Camp — Missouri Despatches— Meeting 
at Lawrence — Gen. Clark shoots his Friend — Strt)ng Defences will save 
Bloodshed — McCrea's Escape, 132 

CHAPTER X. 

WAKARUSA WAR INCIDENTS. 

Gov. Shannon's Proclamation — "Sheriff Jones" at Lawrence — A Ver- 
monter — Pro-Slavery Men leave Town — Our Men drilling — Guard fired 
upon —The Messr'j. Pomeroy and Phillips escape from Missourians^ 
Western neighbors — Messengers to Gov Shannon — A Dream 150 

CHAPTER XI. 

DEATH OF KARBER — THE TREATY. 

Guard fi'-ed upon — Messengers taken Prisoners — Rescuers— Howitzer — 
Barber shot — Gov. Shannon's Pass — The Governor at Lawrence — Dep- 
redations — Terrible Night — Generals Robinson and Lane visit Franklin 
— Dissatisfaction of the Invading Army — The Treaty — Dinner— Meet- 



CONTENTS. IX 

in;:; at Council-Room — Rumor from ihe Camp —Commission of Generals 
Robinson and Lane — Peace Part)' — Released Prisoners — Present 
Lull 164 

CHAPTER XII. 

FUNERAL OF BARBER — DEATH OF R. P. BROWN 

Election for State Constitution — Affray at Leavenworth — Funeral of 
Barber — Smith and Tappan taken to Lecompton — Convention at Law- 
rence—Severe Weather — Destitution — Outrage at Leavenworth — 
Kickapoo Pioneer — Little Boy — Clear Morning — Odd Sleighs^ Attack 
at Easton--R. P Brown killed — Men driven from their Homes — Death 
of Major Robinson — Ride after a Mule — New Plans of the Enemy — 
Kickapoo Pioneer — 1 he Interposition of God — Provisions — A Winter 
to be Remembered 185 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE WINTER IN THE TERRITORY STATE LEGISLATURE 

Cabins in the Forts — Firing — Our People — Atchison's Letter — Settlers' 
Endurance — The Probability of Attack — Indians — A Wedding — East- 
ern Newspapers — Correspondence of Gov. Shannon and Major Clark — 
President's Message — The Twenty-second of February — River open — 
Legislature — Rumors of Arrest — Religious Societies- -Osawatomie — 
Hampden — Topeka — Wabaunsee — Manhattan — Council City — State 
Officers — Sharpe's Rifles taken at Lexington — Corner-stone of Unitarian 
Church laid - Our Home finished — Calls on Settlers — Receptions. . .207 

CHAPTER XIV. 

COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION — "SHERIFF JONES " SHOT 

April — Quiet — Emigration — Arrests — Committee of Investigation — Re- 
hearsal — "Sheriff Jones" shot — Meeting at Lawrence — Fugitive from 
Arrest — Incidents — The People Indignant — Attempt to excite the 
Missourians 228 

CHAPTER XV. 

REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 

May-party at Hotel — New Outrages — The Committee of Investigation at 
Tecumseh — Visit at Topeka — Big Springs — Washington — Incidents- — 
Tecumseh — A Friend's Cabin — Boarding House — Buford's Men — 
Judge Lecompte's Charge to Grand Jury — A Writ of Attachment for 
Gov. Reeder — The Marshal's Proclamation — Pro-Slavery Letters — 
Continual Outrages upon Free-State Men in the Territory and in 
Missouri 243 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 

Rumors of the thi-eatened Attack — Letters to the Governor and Marshal, 
with their replies — Miller arrested — Gov. Shannon's Reply to the 
Messrs, Eldridge — Jones and Stewart killed — The Sacking of Law- 
rence 266 



CHAPTER XVH. 

THE "REIGN OF TERROR" IN KANSAS 

Robberies between Lawrence and Kansas City — The U. S. Mail Searched 
— "J^eign of Terror" at Leavenworth — Dr. Root and Mitchell taken 
Prisoners — Marshal Donaldson's Pass — Officers in the Invaders' Camp 
— Gov. Shannon — Outrages 288 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

ARREST OF G. JENKINS AND G. W. BROWN ARREST OF GOVERNOR ROBINSON 

CHAPTER XIX. 

EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI — OUTRAGES IN THE Te'rRITORY. 

Trip up the River — Excitement at Kansas City — Battle at Prairie City — 
Missourians driven out — Sack of Osawatomie — Judge Conway and Mr. 
Coates ordered away from Lecompton — Attempted Arrest of Judge 
Conway— Murder of Cantrell — Outrage upon Messrs. Bailey, Hill, 
Barlow, Rev. Mr. Webster, and others 315 

CHAPTER XX. 

TWO WEEKS IN JUNE ON THE MISSOURI BORDER. 

Pro-Slavery Men — Gov. Robinson's Guard — Gov. Shannon and Col. 
Sumner — The Investigating Committee — Westport and Kansas City — 
W. Donelson — Missouri Women — A furious Man— Leavenworth — 
Conversation of Western Women — Lawrence — Hopkins killed 336 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE U. S. CAMP DISPERSION OK THE LEGISLATURE. 

Visit the Camp — Legate and Hoyt arrested — New Orders of Cramer — 
Emigrants disarmed and sent back— Gay, the Indian Agent, killed — 
Buchanan Ratification Meeting — -More Prisoners — Lecompton alarmed 
— Camp moved to protect it — Log Prison — Cheerfulness — "Law-and- 
order" Men — Barricades — Dispersion of the Legislature 347 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER XXII. 

"LAW-AND-ORDER" men FREE-STATE MEN AROUSED. 

Discomforts — More Emigrants turned back — The President dumb — 
Moved Camp again — Gen. Smith — Gov. and Mrs. Shannon — Col 
Titus — W. P. Fain — Heavy Showers — Efforts to diminish the Com- 
fort of the Prisoners — Perkins assaulted — Mr. Wilson — Concert — 
Preaching — "Law-and-order" Men in Conclave — Gov. Shannon re- 
moved — Southerners build Forts — Destruction of Fort on Douglas 
Creek — Free-State Emigrants arrived — Battle at Franklin — Murder of 
Hoyt — Destruction of Fort on Washington Creek, and of Titus' 
Stronghold — Panic at Lecompton — Treaty. 366 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

NEW INVASION — RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 

Murder of Ross — Outrage upon Free-State Lady — Woodson calls out 
Militia — New Intention to destroy Lawrence — Committee from Law- 
rence calls upon the Governor — More Troops from the Fort— Wagons 
taken near Leavenworth— Mr. Nute and others taken Prisoners — 
Messrs. Hutchinson and Southerland retained at Lecompton — Eighty 
Troops go to Lawrence — Osowatomie destroyed — Missourians driven 
out — Houses burned — U. S. Marshal visits Lawrence — Men murdered 
— Free-State Army goes to Lecompton — Mob-law at Leavenworth — 
Release of Prisoners at Leavenworth — Gov. Geary arrived — Release 
of State Prisoners — Jubilee at Lawrence 3S0 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 



APPENDIX 405 



KANSAS. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Far away amid childhood's sunny vales, pleasant mem- 
ories bring back to me a quiet New England village not far 
from the noble Connecticut's sparkling waters. Situated 
upon an elevation, commanding an extensive view of the 
surrounding country in all directions, the Mt. Hol3'oke 
range upon the north-west, and Wilbraham mountains on 
the south, and being finely diversified with hill and dale, as 
an inland town its beauty of location can scarcely be equaled. 
The taste of its inhabitants was visible in the broad, finely 
shaded streets, and the long, wide common, where the 
whispering breezes toyed and laughed among the trees. 
Upon the eastern side of this beautiful green were the 
churches and town-hall, the lower rooms of which, for many 
years, had been used for the public school rooms. At the 
north end of the common stood the Belchertown Classical 
School, three stories above the basement with cupola and 
bell, and east and west wings two stories high with piazzas; 
opposite at the south end of the common was the beautiful 
hotel, famous in the whole state as being the best on the 
great stage route between Boston and Albany. Here, 
especially, memories of bygone days cluster, — memories of 

teachers and school friends long since passed away, others 
1 



2 KANSAS. 

Still living, few of whom I shall ever meet again. But most 
vividl}' of all comes before me the bright colored map, in 
green, red and yellow, upon which I daily learned my lessons, 
as to our whereabouts, and that of mankind generally, upon 
the face of the old earth. Very many were my speculations 
as to the appearance of one part of the countr}-, laid down 
upon the map as the Great American Desert. There was 
mystery too, in its semi-circular lines in fine letters, "Great 
American Desert, inhabited only by savages and wild beasts, " 
and much childish curiosity was excited thereb}'. Years came 
and went ; and with them came the increase of wealth and 
power to the American people, and the progress of the age. 
As California became a portion of her dominions, gold was 
found in the bed of her rivers, and in the bosom of her soil. 
Thousands flocked thither from the whole country. The 
young and ardent from the Atlantic States, unused to toil 
and hardships; but eager in their search for gold, left all the 
comforts of home, and entered the lists. Men from the West, 
not quite so daintily reared, pressed onwards in the race, and 
together they sought this famed Eldorado. Some realized 
their anticipations, but many a loved and cherished one "fell 
and perished, weary with the march of life." Thousands 
reached the goal of their hopes, by a long passage around 
the Horn, some b}^ a slow, vexatious crossing of the Isthmus ; 
but thousands more took that route which promised most of 
health to the traveler, — the one opened from Missouri over- 
land to the Pacific shore, by the courageous, the enterprising, 
the adventurous Colonel Fremont. This, the finding of which 
through the mountains b}- unequaled energy, and endurance, 
and trials, and sufferings, which would have unnerved ordina- 
ry men, became now the general thoroughfare to Oregon and 
California. , Thisnewly opened highway led directly through 
the Indian Territory, known to my childhood as the "Great 
American Desert ; " and many a one, looking upon its 
unrivalled and ever varying scenes of beauty, as his route 
for days lay over its beautiful rolling prairies, decked with 
the loveliest flowers in every shade of coloring, or camped 



IXTRODUCTION. 3 

under the noble trees by the bank of some swiftly flowing 
stream, felt strong desires for a home, where he could sit 
under his own vine and fig-tree, in a land like this. Many 
then resolved to find therein such home, when it should be 
thrown open to settlement. The face of this country is 
beautiful beyond all comparison. The prairies, though 
broad and expansive, stretching away miles in many places, 
seem never lonely or wearisome, being gently undulating, 
or more abruptly rolling; and, at the ascent of each new 
roll of land, the traveler finds himself in the midst of new 
loveliness. There are also high bluffs, usually at some 
little distance from the rivers, running through the entire 
length of the country, while ravines run from them to the 
rivers. These are, at some points, quite deep and difficult 
to cross, and, to a traveler unacquainted with the country, 
somewhat vexatious, especially where the prairie grass is 
as high as a person's head while seated in a carriage. 
There is little trouble, however, if travelers keep back 
from the water-courses, and near the high lands. These 
ravines are in many instances pictures of beauty, with tall, 
graceful trees, cotton-wood, black walnut, hickory, oak, elm 
and linwood, standing near, while springs of pure cold water 
gush from the rock. The bluffs are a formation unknown 
in form and appearance, in any other portion of the West. 
At a little distance, a person could scarcely realize that art 
had not added her finishing touches to a work, which 
nature had made singularly beautiful. Many of the bluffs 
appear like the cultivated grounds about fine old residences 
within the Eastern States, terrace rising above terrace, 
with great regularity; while others look like forts in the 
distance. In- the eastern part of the territory, most of the 
timber is upon the rivers and creeks, though there are in 
some places most delightful spots; high hills crowned with 
a heavy growth of trees, and deep vales where rippling 
waters gush amid a dense shade of flowering shrubbery; 
all reminding me of dear New England homes, wtiere art 
and taste had labored long. Higher than the bluffs are 



natural mounds, which also have about them the look of 
art. They rise to such a height as to be seen at a great 
distance, and add peculiar beauty to the whole appearance 
of the country. From the summit of these the prospect is 
almost unlimited in extent, and unrivalled in beauty. The 
prairie for miles, with its gently undulating rolls, lies be- 
fore the eyes. Rivers, glistening in the sunlight, flow on 
between banks crowned with tall trees;— beyond these, 
other high points arise Trees are scattered here and there 
like old orchards, and cattle in large numbers are grazing 
upon the hillside, and in the valleys, giving to all the look 
of cultivation and home life. It is, indeed, difficult to re- 
alize that for thousands of years this country has been a 
waste, uncultivated and solitary, and that months only have 
elapsed since the white settler has sought here a home. 



SOIL. 

The soil for richness can be surpassed in no country. It 
is of a black color, with a sub-soil of clay and limestone 
basis. Vegetation is most luxuriant. The soil and climate 
are most admirably adapted to the raising of grains of every 
known variety. The growth of melons, cantelopes, toma- 
toes, squashes, — in fact, vegetables of all kinds, — is won- 
derful. Western Missouri bears most excellent fruit of all 
kinds, apples of the best varieties, peaches, plums, grapes, 
etc. The soil and climate in Kansas being similar, a very 
few years will see the perfection of the same fruits through- 
out the country. 

Wild fruits are abundant. Pawpaws, a fruit resembling 
somewhat a banana, are very sweet and luscious, in the es- 
timation of some, while others think them quite unpalatable. 
The mandrake, or custard-apple, is a pleasant fruit, ripe in 
August, of the size and appearance of an egg-plum, med- 
icinal also in its nature. The wild plum, cherr}' and mul- 
berry, grow in many places. The plum is very good of 
itself, and, as a tree to graft upxDn, valuable. Gooseberries, 



CLIMATE. 5 

blackberries, strawberries and raspberries, grow spontane- 
ously. With a very little pains, the settlers in Kansas 
can soon surround themselves with all the fruits which re- 
quire several years in New England to cultivate to an}' 
degree of perfection. Meat here, especially beef, is much 
nicer than beef fattened elsewhere. It is owing, probably, 
to the rapidit}'^ with which it fattens in this country. Beef 
of a year old in many instances is unequalled. Venison, 
prairie chickens, wild turkeys, rabbits, and squirrels, fur- 
nish dainties for the most fastidious epicure. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate is exceedingly lovel3\ With a clear, dry 
atmosphere, and gentle, health-giving breezes, it cannot 
be otherwise. The peculiar clearness of the atmosphere 
cannot be imagined by a non-resident. For miles here a 
person can clearly distinguish objects, which, at the same 
distance in any other part of this country, he could not see 
at all. The summers are long, and winters short. 

The winters are usually very mild and open, with little 
snow, — none falling in the night, save what the morrow's 
sun will quickly cause to disappear. So mild are they, that 
the cattle of the Indians, as those of the settlers in Western 
Missouri, feed the entire year in the prairies and river- 
bottoms. The Indians say that, once in about seven years, 
Kansas sees a cold and severe winter, with snows of a foot 
in depth. Two weeks of cold weather is called a severe 
winter. Then the spring-like weather comes in February; 
the earth begins to grow warm, and her fertile bosom 
ready to receive theucare of the husbandman. 

The winds of March and April are the most disagreeable 
outdoor arrangements in Kansas. It were quite useless 
for a person of little gravity, or strength, to attempt much 
.progress in locomotion, when from out the halls of ^Eolus 
the winds have rushed untrammelled, and unrestrained. 
The breezes of summer, however, are most delightful. 
With the sun the wind rises, and makes such a difference 



6 KANSAS. 

in the actual effect of the temperature upon one's senses, 
as to lead to doubts as to the correctness of thermometers 
in this country. The mornings and evenings are always 
cool and pleasant, and one experiences nothing here of 
those summer nights, so common even in New England, 
where, between weariness occasioned by intense heat, and 
mosquitoes, no refreshing sleep will come. Very seldom 
are the nights, in Kansas, that blankets are not found an 
essential comfort. The rains are frequent, and copious. So 
far as my own experience goes, we have no more of a wet or 
dry season than in Massachusetts. Seldom a week passes 
in the summer without rain, often coming in most gentle 
showers in the night, unaccompanied by thunder and light- 
ning; while, early in the spring especially, there is such 
display of electricity as one seldom sees. The whole 
heavens will be one perfect sea of flame, and thunder 
deafening in the continual roar, while the waters fall so 
abundantly, that they run in all directions, after the earth 
has filled its pores, like a miniature deluge. There is a 
sublimity, an awe-inspiring influence, in such displays of 
grandeur and power, as make the creature feel his noth- 
ingness, and that the Creator is indeed all, — the great 
All-Father, All-wise, All-good, All-powerful. Days, like 
September days in New England, linger here until the old 
year has given place to the new; and the last of December 
has the genial breath, the pleasant sun, and glad look of 
early autumn. But the changes of weather come suddenly. 
One may be dreaming all the morning, influenced by the 
. pleasant temperature around him, of the fair Italian land; 
and, ere the sun finds its setting, may fancy himself near- 
ing the poje. Yet in all these changes no one takes cold. 
There is something so invigorating in the atmospliere, so 
bracing, and the lungs have such play and action m it, that 
vigor is increased where health was before enjoyed; and in 
many a case, where the pulse was faint and low, and the 
invalid looked out upon life with littlt purpose and few 
aims, feeling that its limits were nearly reached, the roses 



CLIMATE. 7 

of health have again bloomed, and the life-blood coursed 
joyousl}'. For consumptives there can be no better country 
than this. In many instances, most material has been the 
change, and permanent the cure. 

This country, covering an extent of surface larger than 
the thirteen Atlantic States, was by an act of Congress 
approved March 6, 1820, forever sealed to freedom. This 
prohibition to slavery is most definitely expressed in these 
words: 

"Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That in all that territory 
ceded by France to the United States, under the name of 
Louisiana, which lies north 36° 30' of north latitude, not 
included within the limits of the state contemplated by this 
act, slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than as 
the punishment of crimes, shall be, and is hereby, forever 
prohibited." 

This country, than which the sun shines upon no fairer, 
with its mountains, prairies and valleys, lying midway 
between the north and south, east and west, in the very 
heart of the United States, was never to be cursed with 
the blackest of all villainies, the bitterest of all evils — 
human slavery. The clanking of chains was never to create 
a discord in that harmony, where the wild bird sent forth 
its gushing lay for freedom, where the whispering breezes 
through the leafy wood caught up the music, echoing it 
amid the quivering leaves, and where all nature sang a 
continual song for freedom. But what has been the sequel? 
How has this act, entered into as a solemn compact before 
God and man, been regarded? The slave oligarchists 
looked with covetous eyes upon this fair region. They 
had gained, heretofore, whatever they had desired by craft, 
bribery, or threats; and the North, imbecile in many of its 
legislators, had acquiesced. They had gained new terri- 
tory, for slavery extension, by the compromise of 1850, 
when New England's greatest senator sounded his own 
death-knell, and, in the passage of the Fugitive Slave Bill, 
had rendered the entire country slave-hunting ground. 



8 KANSAS. 

Had the}' not good reason, then, to hope by legislation 
to get Kansas, too? 

On the 14th of December, 1853, Mr. Dodge, of Iowa, 
asked leave to introduce a bill to organize the Territory of 
Nebraska, which was finally referred to the Committee on 
Territories. This was a simple territorial bill, in no way 
undertaking to touch the compromise of 1820, the prohibi- 
tion of slavery in the territory. This bill was opposed 
by Atchison, Vice-President of the United States, as well 
as by other southern men. On the 4th of January, 1854, 
Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, as chairman of the Committee on 
Territories, reported this bill back to the Senate, with vari- 
ous amendments, accompanied by a special report. 

The whole country was moved at the prospect of such 
an outrage as this bill proposed — the annulling of a sacred 
compact, the breaking of a plighted faith. How, through 
all that long season of discussion upon the bill, more than 
tliree months, every freedom-loving heart was moved to 
hope this great wrong might not be committed! How 
every honest feeling was stirred at the eloquent words of 
Chase, Giddings, Sumner, Seward, Hale, and all our noble 
men in Congress, who battled mightily against this evil". 
We can never forget what indignation fired the veins of all 
lovers of God and men, as the wires brought news of the 
indignity offered to New England's three thousand protest- 
ing clergymen, and what shame mantled the cheek of many 
to remember that the Benedict Arnold of the age should 
have been born of any woman in a beautiful, thriving town 
nestled amid the Green Mountains. Well will the North 
remember how the womanly element mingled its influence 
to stay this current of evil; how the protests, with many 
thousands of names, poured in through all the avenues of 
communication to the capital. Woman's heart was touched; 
all the deep sympathies of her nature were stirred; and, 
while hourh' she prayed that no new field of suffering and 
woe should be opened for her down-trodden and oppressed 
sister, she acted too, and, through tiie melting snows of 



CLIMATE. 9 

early spring, each woman in many towns was called upon 
for her signature, by one of her own sex. Could she see 
this great country — only a little less in extent than Italy, 
France and Spain, together — thrown open to the foul in- 
roads of slavery, so that no woman with black blood in her 
veins could be a welcome inmate of her father's house, feel 
safe in the protection of a husband's love, or, in caressing 
the children God gave her, call them her own, and make 
no effort in their behalf? No. It was not thus, thank God! 
Men felt, and women felt. Notwithstanding all that was 
done, and all that was felt, the bill, odious in the sight of 
God and hateful to man, was passed. Mr. Sumner made 
his final protest, for himself and the New England clergy, 
against slavery in Kansas and Nebraska, upon the night of 
the final passage of the Nebraska and Kansas Bill, May 25, 
1854. After a most stormy and contentious debate, on 
Sunday morning the bill was passed. The slave power 
was again triumphant. A consolidated despotism was 
striving to crush out every aspiration for truth, for good- 
ness, for freedom, from every free-born soul. Southern 
men argued that by this new compromise the agitation in 
our country would cease, and peace be restored. How has 
it been? Civil feud, strife, and continual agitation, have 
been the result in all communities. The "crime against 
Kansas" consummated in Congress, the infraction of solemn 
obligations, has been acted over in frauds upon the ballot- 
box in Kansas, and has been the occasion of robberies, 
murder, civil war, in her fair borders. 

When, at that dark midnight hour, the bill was passed, 
the final blow was struck, seemingly the knell for the burial 
of Liberty was sounded. But there was light also in the 
hour, in the deed. There could no more be sown in com- 
mon ground the seeds of harmony and good-will. The 
hosts of freedom must marshal their forces, and draw their 
lines against the lines of slavery, and each man fight 
courageously on the accepted issue. It was the death of 
all compromises too. 



lO KANSAS. 

From this period, the passage of the bill, and the throw- 
ing open of the territory to settlement upon the principles 
of "squatter sovereignty," let us note carefully the whole 
course of those men, who so strenuously urged its passage, 
and see to what extreme measures, bringing untold suffer- 
ings upon the innocent people of Kansas, they have 
resorted, to bring about their first design — that of making 
Kansas a slave state. As early as the spring of 1854, 
Stringfellow, and other men of like calibre in Western 
Missouri, founded secret societies, called Blue Lodges, 
Friends' Societies, etc. Their members were sworn, upon 
peril of their lives, to make Kansas a slave state. There 
were published accounts of meetings held in several towns 
in Western Missouri, with most fiery resolutions, denounc- 
ing northern men, offering large rewards for the heads of 
some men, and explicitly avowing their purpose of settling 
the territory with pro-slavery men, and keeping all others 
out. In May, at a meeting held in Westport, one of the 
principal speakers continually interlarded his harangue 
from the court-house steps with "Ball to the muzzle, knife 
to the hilt!" "Damn the abolitionists!" "We '11 put them 
all in the Missouri river." Two gentlemen, Dr. Charles 
Robinson and C. H. Branscomb, from Massachusetts, who 
traveled in Western Missouri in June and July, 1854, saw 
Dr. Stringfellow on their way up the river. He was con- 
tinually reiterating, with horrid oaths, that "Kansas would 
and should be a slave state," and "no abolitionist siiould 
be allowed to live in the territory;" that "if he had the 
power he would hang every abolitionist in the country, and 
every man north of Mason and Dixon's line was an aboli- 
tionist;" that "every means should be used to drive free- 
state men from the territory." 



CHAPTER II. 

THE FIRST ELECTION FIRST INVASION. 

While these things were being done in Missouri, the 
press of the North was publishing accounts of the new 
country opened to settlement, and directing the attention 
of emigrants, seeking a western home, to this Eden of 
America. It was evident that a large emigration would 
naturally flow into Kansas from the North and East; and, 
to enable the emigrant to reach his destination easily and 
cheaply, an association was formed, which completed its 
organization in July. The purpose of this association, as 
declared by themselves, was to "assist emigrants to settle 
in the West." Their objects were to induce emigrants to 
move westward in such large bodies, that arrangements 
might be made with boat lines and railroads for tickets at 
reduced rates; to erect saw-mills and boarding-houses, and 
establish schools in different localities, that the people 
might gather around them, and not be obliged to wait 
years for the blessings and privileges of social life, as most 
early settlers in the West have done. Transplanted into 
the wilderness, they hoped to bring them the civilization 
and the comforts of their old homes. 

Mr. Eli Thayer, of Worcester, Mass., was one of the 
first movers in the scheme. To some suggestions of his 
the association owed its birth. He, with A. A. Lawrence 
of Boston, Mass., and J. M. F. Williams, of Cambridge, 
Mass., acted as trustees of the Stock Company formed 
July 24, 1854. They are all gentlemen of sterling integrity 
and noble purpose, and with untiring energy have devoted 



12 KANSAS. 

their labors and money to the cause of freedom. Dr. T. 
H. Webb has from the first acted as secretar}' of this 
association, and by day and night has given himself to the 
work of aid for Kansas. His courage has never faltered, 
or his efforts been diminished, in the hours of prosperity, 
or when dark hoards of invaders hovered in our borders; 
and, with unabated zeal, he still looks forward to the day 
of our deliverance from the bonds of the oppressor. 

On the 2ist of February, an act was passed to incorpo- 
rate the New England Emigrant Aid Company. The 
purposes of the act were distinctly stated to be "directing 
emigration westward, and aiding and providing accommo- 
dation for the emigrants after arriving at their place of 
destination." 

The first of August, 1854, a party of about thirty settlers, 
chiefly from New England, arrived in the territory, and 
settled at Lawrence. Mr. C. H. Branscomb, of Boston, 
on a tour in the territory a few weeks earlier in the sum- 
mer, in following out the instructions given by Mr. Thayer, 
had selected this spot as one of peculiar loveliness for a 
town site. A part of them pitched their tents upon the 
high hill south-west of the town site, and named it Mount 
Oread, after the Mount Oread School in Worcester, of 
which Mr. Thayer was founder and proprietor. 

When the party arrived, one man only occupied the town 
site with his family. His improvements were purchased, 
and he abandoned his claim for the town. This party was 
met with insult and abuse on the Missouri river, and on 
their way into the territory. After they arrived in Law- 
rence, bands of these Missourians gathered along the river 
bottoms, and wherever they put a stake they made a pre- 
tended claim. They invaded the meetings of the actual 
settlers in the neighborhood, and attempted to control 
them. Attempts were also made to frighten and drive 
them from the territory by fomenting disputes about claims, 
and other quarrels. September 28, 1854, a squatter meet- 
ing was held at Hornsby & Ferrill's store, on the California 



THE FIRST ELECTION FIRST INVASION. I 3 

road, about two miles from Lawrence, at which the free- 
state men had a majority. 

The squatters at length decided by vote that no person, 
resident of another state, should be allowed to vote at 
these meetings, etc., and for a while they made their own 
regulations. 

About the first of September, the second New England 
party arrived and settled in Lawrence. As soon as it was 
known that a New England settlement was to be made at 
Lawrence, every means was resorted to, to break it up. 

About the first of October, a man from the Western 
States who said Stephen A. Douglas was a better man than 
Jesus Christ, made his appearance with his friends, and 
used every effort to break up the New England settlement. 
The people however proceeded with their improvements; 
erecting a saw-mill, boarding-houses, and stores. 

On the sixth of October, a demand was made that a 
certain tent, standing within five rods of the house occupied 
by the original claimant should be removed from its pres- 
ent location, and no more improvements should be made 
in that part of the town. Several pro-slavery men, mostly 
from Missouri, assembled in the vicinity of the tent, and 
kindly notified Dr. Robinson "that if he did not remove 
the tent in thirty minutes, they should." Dr. Robinson's 
laconic reply was returned to them: "If you molest our 
property you do it at your peril." The citizens of the 
settlement came together to witness the removal, and with 
praiseworthy patience waited for the half hour to expire. 
The time at length passed by, and no movement was made 
toward removing the tent. Another half hour was waning 
fast, and the tliirty New Englanders were quietly waiting 
for the tent's removal. At last one of the citizens asked 
another if it "would be best to hit the first man who 
attempted to remove it or fire over his head?" The pithy 
reply of Dr. Robinson was, "I should be ashamed, for the 
rest of my life, to fire at a man and not hit him." 



14 KANSAS. 

There was a spy among them, and as soon as he heard 
tliis conversation, so brief, yet pointed, he went over to 
the enemy's camp. The intelligence imparted, of whatever 
nature it might be, had the effect to scatter the Missourians 
at once. They left with oaths, and threats that "in one 
week they would return with twenty thousand men from 
Missouri, and then the tent should be removed." 

The week came and went, and about the same number 
of Missourians as before appeared, but not to remove the 
tent. For some reason, the people of Missouri, although 
urgently called upon, did not respond, and the belligerent 
parties concluded to postpone any warlike action. 

The people of Missouri called all eastern and northern 
men cowards, and are evidently disappointed at the calm 
determination of the people of Lawrence to protect them- 
selves from mob violence. They do not understand how a 
people can be brave, yet quiet. With them, loud swelling 
words are received as evidence of valor; and they could 
not therefore comprehend the quiet, yet firm preparations 
for deadly conflict made by the few settlers in Lawrence. 

The buildings erected in Lawrence were of most primi- 
tive style, of pole and thatch. Most of the people for some 
weeks boarded in common, and, in such a dwelling, sleep- 
ing upon the ground on buffalo robes and blankets. 

Ociobcr 1st. — Rev. S. Y. Lum preached the first sermon 
in Lawrence, in the "Pioneer House." A few rough boards 
were brought for seats, and, with singing by several good 
voices among the pioneers, the usual church services were 
performed The first Bible Class in Lawrence was formed 
that day. The people then, as many succeeding Sabbaths, 
were gathered together by the ringing of a large dinner- 
bell by Dr. Robinson. 

6th. — At a meeting of the association, it was decided that 
the town be named Lawrence, after Amos A. Lawrence, 
of Boston, who was doing much for the settlement. It 
had been called previously Wakarusa and New Boston, 
while the Missourians gave it the name of Yankee town. 



THE FIRST ELECTION FIRST INVASION. 15 

gtJi. — Gov. Reeder and other officers appointed by the 
President arrived in the territory. On the nineteenth of 
the month they came to Lawrence, and were received with 
a general greeting by the people. A dinner was provided 
for them, and with speeches and sentiments some pleasant 
hours were passed. Mrs. S. N. Wood wrote a very appro- 
priate poem for the occasion. 

The first child born in Lawrence was named Lawrence 
Carter, the city association presenting him with a lot. He 
was born October 26. 

The first election of the territory was for delegate to 
Congress, and was held on the twenty-ninth November, 
1854. The conspiracy against the rights of the settlers was 
gaining ground in Missouri, and, before the day of election, 
armed hordes poured over her borders. In the second 
district, one of the citizens, who was a candidate for 
delegate to Congress, was told, by one of the Missourians, 
he would be abused and probably killed if he challenged a 
vote. He was at length compelled to seek the protection 
of the judges. After the election these men mounted into 
their wagons, crying out, "All aboard for Westport and 
Kansas City!" 

Similar frauds were practiced in tlie other districts. In 
the eighth district, five hundred and eighty-four illegal 
votes were cast, and only twenty legal. It was a remote 
district, with a sparse population. At Leavenworth, then 
a little village, several hundred men came over from Platte, 
Clay and Ray counties, camped around the town, and 
controlled the polls. Many of them were men of influence 
in Missouri. Gen. Whitfield was, by these illegal votes, 
elected delegate to Congress. 

In January and February, 1855, Gov. Reeder caused the 
census to be taken. The whole number of inhabitants was 
found to be eight thousand five hundred and one. 

The same day that the census returns were brought in 
complete, Gov. Reeder issued his proclamation for an 



l6 KANSAS. 

election to be held March 30th, 1855, for the Legislative 
Assembly. 

The winter in Kansas was very mild and pleasant. 
There was not a day that the people could not follow their 
out-door employments, and but little snow fell. With 
occasional lectures before the Athenaeum just formed, and 
a general prevalence of kindly feeling, the pioneers passed 
a pleasant winter amid the uncouth arrangements of the 
new home. 

Before the time of the election in March, the border 
papers were rife with their threats of outrage. The fol- 
lowing from the Leavenworth Herald, will suffice to show 
the character of the leaders of the pro-slavery party, and 
their intentions regarding the manner in which Kansas was 
to be made a slave state. The plan of operation was laid 
down in an address to a crowd at St. Joseph, Mo., by Dr. 
Stringfellow. 'T tell you to mark every scoundrel among 
you that is the least tainted with free-soilism, or abolition- 
ism, and exterminate him. Neither give nor take quarter 
from the d — d rapcals. I propose to mark them in this 
house, and on the present occasion, so you may crush 
them out. To those having qualms of conscience, as to 
violating laws, state or national, the time has come when 
such impositions must be disregarded, as your lives and 
property are in danger, and I advise you one and all to 
enter every election district in Kansas, in defiance of Reeder 
and his vile myrmidons, and vote at the point of the bowie- 
knife and revolver. Neither giving or taking quarter, as 
our cause demands it. It is enough that the slave-holding 
interest wills it, from whicli there is no appeal. What 
right has Gov. Reeder to rule Missourians in Kansas? 
His proclamation and prescribed oath must be disregarded; 
it is your interest to do so. Mind that slavery is established 
where it is not prohibited." 

Laws, state and national, are to be disregarded; every 
one tainted with an}' sentiment of freedom to be murdered; 
every election district to be invaded, and votes cast in a 



THE FIRST ELECTION — FIRST INVASION. 17 

neighboring territory at the point of bowie-knife and re- 
volver. This same Stringfellow is one of the leaders of 
the "law and order" party. 

A few days before the thirtieth of March crowds of men 
might be seen wending their way to some general rendez- 
vous in the various counties of Ray, Howard, Carroll, 
Boone, Lafayette, Saline, Randolph and Cass, in Missouri. 
They were rough, brutal looking men, of most nondescript 
appearance. The}' had, however, one mark upon them, 
a white or blue ribbon, to distinguish them from the 
settlers. This was wholly unnecessary, no one ever mis- 
taking one of these men for an intelligent, educated settler 
in the territory. Those Missourians who did not feel the 
interest to come over to vote, paid their money, or con- 
tributed provisions and wagons for the new raid. The 
expenses of the vandal horde were paid, and they were 
en /■(>// /<■ a.ga.\n to overrun the fair country, with drunken- 
ness, and fraud, and murder, if the cause demanded it. 
Their watchword was, "Neither give or take quarter." 

The people of Missouri had been excited by the inflam- 
matory rumors, put in circulation among them by their 
leaders, regarding the design and character of eastern emi- 
gration. Aided by the oaths of their secret societies, they 
had acted upon their base passions and prejudices to such a 
degree that the}'^ were full}' equal to any deeds of violence. 

Provisions were sent ahead of the parties, and those 
intended for the invaders at Lawrence were stored in the 
house of W. Lykins. The polls were also opened at the 
same place. Some of the party came in on the evening 
previous to the election, and on the morning of the thirtieth 
of March about one thousand men, under the command of 
Col. Samuel Young, of Boone county, and Claiborne F. 
Jackson, came into Lawrence. They came in about one 
hundred and ten wagons, and upon horseback, with music, 
and banners flying. They were armed with guns, pistols, 
rifles and bowie-knives. They brought two cannon loaded 
with musket balls 



l8 KANSAS. 

The evenings preceding the election, these men were 
gathered at the tent of one of their leaders, Capt. Jackson, 
and in speeches made to them by Col. Young, and others, 
it was declared, "that more voters were here than would 
be needed to carry the election," and that there was a 
scarcity at Tecumseh, Bloomington, Hickory Point, and 
other places, eight, ten, and twelve miles distant. Volun- 
teers came forward, and the next morning left Lawrence 
for those places. 

When this band of men were coming to Lawrence, they 
met Mr. N. B. Blanton, formerly of Missouri, who had 
been appointed one of the judges of election b}' Gov. 
Reeder. Upon his saying that he should feel bound, in 
executing the duties of his office, to demand the oath as to 
residence in the territory, they attempted, by bribes first, 
and then by threats of hanging, to induce him to receive 
their votes without the oath. Mr. Blanton not appearing 
on the election day, a new judge, by name Robert A. 
Cummings, who claimed that a man had a right to vote if 
he had been in the territory but an hour, was appointed in 
his place. The Missourians came to the polls from the 
second ravine west of the town, where they were encamped 
in tents, in parties of one hundred at a time. 

Before the voting commenced, however, they said, that 
"if the judges appointed by the governor did not allow 
them to vote, they would appoint judges who would." 
They did so in the case of Mr. Abbott, one of the judges, 
who had become indignant, all law being outraged, and 
resigned. Mr. Benjamin was elected in his place. Soon 
after the voting commenced, some question of legality was 
raised in regard to the vote of a Mr. Page. Col. Young 
interfered, saying he would decide the matter. Mr. Page 
withdrew his vote, and Col. Young offered his, saying he 
was a resident of the territory, but refusing to take the 
oath. His vote was registered. When asked by Mr. 
Abbott "if he intended to make Kansas his future home," 
he replied, that "it was none of his business;" that, "if he 



THE FIRST ELECIION FIRST INVASION. IQ 

was a resident there, he should ask no more." Col. Young 
then mounted onto the window-sill, telling the crowd "he had 
voted, and they could do the same." He told the judges 
"it was no use swearing them, as they would all swear as 
he had done." The other judges deciding to receive such 
votes, Mr. Abbott resigned. 

The crowd was often so great around the log cabin, that 
many of the voters, having voted, were hoisted on to the 
roof of the building, thus making room for others. After- 
wards, especially when the citizens began to vote, a 
passage-way was made through the crowd. The ruffians 
seemed to have some respect for Dr. Robinson, and when 
he approached the cabin cried out, "Here comes the 
doctor, let him vote." Between a double file of armed 
men, while they were continually asking for the prominent 
men in Lawrence, their questions always coupled with 
threats of shooting, or hanging, our citizens passed to the 
polls. Several citizens of Lawrence were driven from the 
ground during the day, with threats of fatal violence. One 
man escaped by a perilous leap off the high bank of the 
river, several shots whizzing past him. 

As a special favor to the old men, who were weary with 
traveling, and Vvaiitc-d to get back to their tents to rest, 
they were allowed to vote first. Many of the Missourians 
left for home as soon as they had voted, while others 
remained until morning. They entered freely the houses 
of the citizens, without ceremony or invitation, in some 
instances taking their meals with them. So loud were the 
threats of the Missourians against the town, that a guard 
was kept around it the following night. There was, how- 
ever, no disturbance. 

The whole number of names on the poll list was one 
thousand and thirts'-four, of which eight hundred and two 
were non-residents and illegal voters 

BI.OO.MINGTON. 

Eariv on the morning of the das' of election, five or six 



20 KANSAS. 

hundred Alissourians, armed with rifles, guns, pistols and 
bowie-knives, with flags flying, went to Bloomington, in 
wagons and upon liorseback. Samuel J. Jones of West- 
port, Claiborne F. Jackson, with his volunteers from the 
camp at Lawrence, and a Mr. Steely, of Independence, 
were the leaders of this motley gang. The day here was 
one continual scene of outrage and violence. Scarcely 
were the polls open, before Jones marched up to the 
window, at the head of the crowd, and demanded that 
they be allowed to vote without being sworn as to their 
residence. Little bands of fifteen or twenty men were 
formed by Jackson. He gave to them the guns from the 
wagons, which some of them loaded. Jackson had previ- 
ously declared, amid repeated cheers, that "they came 
there to vote;" "If they had been there only five minutes 
they had a right to vote." "That they would not go home 
without voting." Like the party at Lawrence they tied 
white ribbons in their button-holes. Upon the refusal of 
the judges to resign, the mob broke in the windows, glass, 
and sash, and, presenting pistols and guns, threatened to 
shoot them. A voice from the outside cried, "Do not 
shoot them; there are pro-slavery men in the house!" A 
pry was then put under the corner of the log cabin, letting 
it rise and fall; but the same fear of injury to pro-slavery 
men proved the security of the others. The two judges 
still remaining firm in their refusal to allow them to vote, 
Jones led on a party with bowie-knives drawn, and pistols 
cocked. With watch in hand, he declared to the judges, 
"he would give them five minutes in which to resign, or 
die." The five minutes passed by. Jones said he "would 
give another minute, but no more." The pro-slavery judge 
snatched up the ballot-boxes, and, crying out "Hurrah for 
Missouri!" ran into the crowd. The other judges, per- 
suaded by their friends, who thought them in imminent 
peril from the rough and reckless men, brandishing their 
deadly weapons at every moment, while curses and oaths 
were a part of every sentence, passed out, one of them 



THE FIRST ELECTION FIRST INVASION. 21 

putting the poll- books in his pocket. Jones, seeing the 
movement, snatched from him some papers, which were 
of immaterial value; but, not finding his mistake he also 
ran out cr3'ing. "Hurrah for Missouri!" They took Judge 
Wakefield, one of the citizens, a prisoner, and made him 
stand upon a wagon and make them a speech. After tying 
a white ribbon in his button-hole they let him go. 

A Mr. Mace was abused by them in a most ruffianl}' 
manner. He having replied in the affirmative whether he 
would take the oath, he was dragged away from the polls 
by the brutal crowd, with instant death staring him in the 
face, the incessant yells of the mob being, "Cut his throat'" 
"Tear his heart out!" "Kill the d— d nigger thief!" After 
getting him awav from the house, they stood around him 
with bowie-knives drawn and pistols cocked; one man 
putting to his heart a drawn knife, another holding a cocked 
pistol by his ear, and yet another striking at him with a club. 

A great man}' threats were made "to kill the judges, if 
they did not receive their votes;" "no man should vote who 
would submit to be sworn; "no man should vote who w^as 
not all right on the goose;" and "the}^ would vote by foul 
if not by fair means." 

Cries of "Shoot him!" resounded during the day, and, 
in such a pandemonium as would shame even Pluto's dark 
domains, three hundred and eleven illegal votes were 
polled. 

Will not Americans blush that such indignities have 
been offered her citizens, and no remedy been afforded by 
those in power? 

In the other districts the polls were taken possession of 
by bands of these marauders, and similar scenes of violence 
were enacted. They not only came in numbers sufficient 
to carr}^ the election over the votes of the actual settlers, 
but by their outrageous conduct compelled them, in most 
instances, to keep away from the polls. Not satisfied with 
once voting, many of them, by changing hats and coats, 
repeatedl}' voted in the same precinct, or, after voting at 



2 2 KANSAS. 

one, went to another. At Marysville, a settlement in the 
northern part of the territory, twenty-five or thirty men 
polled one hundred and fifty votes. 

Many of the men elected to the Legislature were, and 
still are, residents of Missouri. The judges of election 
appointed by Gov. Reader were obliged, b}^ threats of death, 
to leave the polls, and others were appointed from among 
the Missourians. One of the judges of election, for refus- 
ing to sign the returns, in spite of many threats, was fired 
upon on his way home, but fortunately was uninjured. 
These bands of whiskey-drinking, degraded, foul-mouthed 
marauders came under the leadersliip of Sam'l J. Jones, 
of Westport, Col. Sam'l Young, and C. F. Jackson, Col. 
Sam'l H. Woodson, of Independence, Mo., Gen. D. R. 
Atchison, of Platte City, and Gen. B. F. Stringfellow, of 
Weston. 

Col. Woodson was the leader of the rabble of Tecumseh, 
while B. F. Stringfellow was very active in his efforts to pro- 
mote the pro-slavery interests in one of the northern pre- 
cincts. Atchison, the urgent advocate of squatter sovereign- 
ty, the former Vice-President of the United States, after 
controlling one of the primary elections in the fourteenth 
district, was the acknowledged leader of a gang at Nemaha. 
In opposition to the wishes of the actual residents (pro- 
slavery) he caused a set of candidates to be nominated. His 
words at the time were, "There are ten hundred men coming 
over from Platte county, and if that isn't enough we will 
send five thousand more. We 've come to vote, and will 
vote, or kill every G — d d — d abolitionist in the territory." 
In these northern precincts, besides being armed to the 
teeth with guns, bowie-knives, and revolvers, the ruffians 
wore hemp in their button-holes, as a pledge to carr\' out 
the designs of their secret societies, and singularly signifi- 
cant of the fiendish nature of the institution, while their 
password was "All right on the hemp." 

Major Mordecai Oliver, member of Congress from 
Missouri, — who, it will be remembered, stated on the floor 



THE FIRST ELECTIOM FIRST INVASION. 23 

of tlie House last spring (daring the debates preceding the 
appointment of a committee to look into the wrongs of the 
people of Kansas, and was appointed one of the number at 
his own request), that he knew of no one who came from 
Mis'souri to vote in the territory, — was himself present at 
the election, and, while it is not known with certaint}' that 
he voted, lie did make a speech, excusing the Missourians 
for voting. Four hundred and seventeen votes were polled 
at this precinct, of which no more than eighty can be legal. 
It is not to be supposed that even wilful blindness could 
have concealed these facts from his sight. Another in- 
stance of the elasticity which one's conscience may attain 
may be cited here. While the investigating committee 
were holding their session at Westport, and bands of armed 
men from the border towns were continually in the streets, 
making both day and night hideous with their vile curses, 
and by their oaths calling down the swift vengeance of 
Heaven, Mr. Oliver to the committee discountenanced such 
unlawful measures in the attempt to make Kansas a slave 
state, but was said to have been heard repeatedly urging 
on the ruffians to deeds of horror, in words of their own 
choosing, such as "Wipe out the d — d abolitionists!" 
"Drive them from the territory!" At this precinct, where 
Major O. made his speech, the voters took the oath as to 
residence in the territory. The grounds of their residence 
were the following: One man had cut some poles, and, 
lajang them in the form of a square, it constituted his 
claim. Another based his right to a claim in having cut a 
few sticks of wood. Col. Burnes recommended all to vote, 
and not to go home without voting. The pro-slavery resi- 
dents in this precinct, as in some others, became so outraged 
at the course pursued by the lawless invaders, that they 
gladly came over to the ranks of the free-state party, and 
have since then been among the firmest in the cause of 
freedom. 

In reference to the protests to the election, Major Rich- 
ardson, who was a resident of Missouri, and whose family 



24 KANSAS. 

Still resides there, but who was the pro-slavery candidate 
for council, with threats, told Dr. Cutler, the free-state 
candidate, that if he offered a protest, he and his office 
should be thrown into the Missouri river. 

One of the judges in the third district, having at last been 
driven from his post, where he was determined to do his 
duty, made affidavit in a protest of the illegality of the 
election. An indictment for perjury was found against him 
by the grand jury fifteen months ago, and is still pending. 
Mr. R. has not been informed what is the nature of the 
evidence against him, or who is his accuser. 

Mr. W. Phillips, a lawyer of Leavenworth, made affidavit 
also to a truthful protest concerning the election. A meet- 
ing was soon called, in which the right of free speech upon 
the peculiar institution is denied, as being subversive of 
the quiet of the community, and stigmatized peaceable 
citizens of free-state sentiments as fanatics, incendiaries 
and traitors. The following resolve was passed: 

'■•Resolved, That the institution of slavery is known and 
recognized in this territory; that we repel the doctrine that 
it is a moral and political evil, and we hurl back with scorn 
upon its slanderous authors the charge of inhumanity; and 
we warn all persons not to come to our peaceful firesides 
to slander us, and sow the seeds of discord between the 
master and the servant; for, as much as we deprecate the 
necessity to which we ma\' be driven, we cannot be re- 
sponsible for the consequences." 

A committee of vigilance of thirty men was then ap- 
pointed. Thesa steps were taken preparator)' to acts of 
violence which would follow, that the pro-slaver\- part}' 
might be bound together in their deeds of blood, and, as 
one man. carr}' out their nefarious designs. Soon after 
this meeting, the vigilance committee waited upon Mr. 
Phillips, notifying him to leave. Upon his refusal to do 
so, he was siezed by them, taken across the river to Weston, 
Missouri, several miles from Leavenworth. There, after 
being tarred and feathered, and one side of his head 



THE FIRST ELECTION' ITRST INVASION. 25 

shaved, he was marched about the streets, and finally sold 
at auction to a negro. 

Just one week after the other meeting proposing these 
acts of lawless indignit}' upon any and all who should differ 
from them in sentiment, another meeting was called. R. R. 
Rees, a member-elect of the council, presided at this meet- 
ing of the 25th of May. 1855. This same Rees, on the 30th 
of March, had declared that whoever should say that laying 
out a town, staking a lot, or even driving down stakes on 
another man's claim, did not entitle him to a vote, was 
either a knave or a fool. Judge Payne, a member elect of 
the House, offered the following resolutions, which were 
unanimousl}' adopted: 

''J^csolnuf. That we heartily indorse the action of the 
committee of citizens that shaved, tarred and feathered, 
rode on a rail, and had sold by a negro, William Phillips, 
the moral purjurer. 

''Rfsolvci:/, That we return our thanks to the committee 
for faithfully performing the trust enjoined upon them by 
the pro-slavery part_v. 

"Rcsfl/vt'i/, That the committee be now discharged. 

"■Rcsfllved. That we severely condemn those pro-slavery 
men who, from mercenary motives, are calling upon the 
pro-slavery party to submit without further action. 

"■Resolved, That in order to secure peace and harmony 
to the communit}', we now solemnly declare that the pro- 
slavery party will stand firmly by and carry out the resolu- 
tions reported by the committee appointed for that purpose 
on the memorable 30th." 

■'This meeting was eloquent!}' addressed b}' Judge Le- 
compte." Thus, Judge Lecompte, and the men elected by 
force and fraud, not "inhabitants of " the district for which 
they were elected, as the organic act requires (this act 
declaring that "the true intent and meaning of this act is 
to leave the people there perfectly free to form and regu- 
late their domestic institutions in their own way, subject 
to the constitution of the United States"), are the leaders 



26 KANSAS. 

and insti gators to a series of lawless acts, whose end we 
cannot even foresee, against the peaceable and order-loving 
citizens of the territory, exposing them to imminent peril 
from drunken mobs, and death by fiendish violence, if this 
judge and these law-makers so desire. In such hands, and 
at the mercy of such men, are our lives and safety. 

No other country tlian this witnesses so terrible a despo- 
tism. 



CHAPTER III. 

EASTERN EMIGRATION — BORDER MEN. 

The first Kansas party of the season left Boston, March 
13, 1S55, under the charge of Dr. C. Robinson. There 
were nearly two hundred in the party, men, women and 
children We reached Kansas City March 24. The name 
of Kansas City sounded pleasantly to us, wayfarers, twelve 
days en route from Boston; and, having trunks and carpet- 
sacks all locked, we were read\^ to leave the boat in antici- 
pation ot our arrival When the cables were thrown out 
upon shore, and the planks lowered, we passed off the boat 
and entered the long parlor at the hotel, onh' a few steps 
distant. The mystery was, where could a place be found 
to stow away so many. Such place, however, was made 
for all, and sleep without the boat's continual rocking was 
very sweet 

25th. — Another boat came in with another party, of Kan- 
sas passengers. I awakened to find the hotel directly on 
the levee, the street very narrow, the river in front of the 
house, and Clay county opposite, with forest skirting the 
shore. Wyandotte, settled by a tribe of Indians of the 
same name, was also in sight, and in the distance the 
buildings looked finely, among the trees. My husband 
made an arrangement to accompany a portion of our fellow 
travelers into the country, to look for a pleasant location 
for a new settlement. 

26ili. — The party looking for a location left this morning 
for a trip south, and will return to Topeka and Lawrence. 



28 ' KANSAS. 

Many of our party are busy getting teams for tlieir trip into 
the country, bujdng provisions, and the general outfit for 
a few weeks; and many left for their new homes in the 
territory at the "top of the morning " We hear a great 
deal said here of the preparations the Missourians are 
making to go over into Kansas to vote on the 30th. We 
heard the same while on the river; crowds are coming 
from Lexington, also from one hundred miles below that 
point. Mr. Pomeroy, who was to carry us to the Baptist 
Mission, said he should be ready to start for the mission 
b}- ten o'clock. We sat with bonnets and shawls on over 
an hour; then he concluded we had better sta)' to dinner. 
About four o'clock, he said, again, we would leave Kansas 
City; but, as he was continually interrupted with companj', 
we were not fairl}' in the wagon until another full hour had 
passed. 

We then had a good view of all there is to Kansas City. 
Population in Kansas City 457 by census taken in October, 
1855. It is a most singular location for a town, being a 
gathering together of hills, high and steep. Houses of 
very limited dimensions are perched upon all the highest 
points. They have usually a small porch over the door, or 
light piazza. There is another peculiarity prevailing here, 
as elsewhere in Missouri; the chimneys are all built upon 
the outside of the houses. We passed several of our party 
with ox-teams. In one of the great lumber-wagons was a 
young lady from Massachusetts, who in this way was 
attempting to make the journey of more than a hundred 
miles into the territory. 

It was near evening when we reached Westport. It has 
a look of recent growth — some good brick buildings and a 
large hotel. A good deal of the Indian, also Santa Fe, 
trade comes in here. We were late at Dr. Barker's, having 
made a call at a house off of the road for some time; and I 
was completel}' chilled through on arriving there, so much 
so as to be unable to walk without assistance. The mission 
is situated about a quarter of a mile from the great Cali- 



EASTERN EMIGRATION^ — BORDER MEN. 29 

fornia road, four miles from Westport, and about two from 
Rev. Thomas Johnson's Methodist Mission. After the 
road turns from the California road, it descends slightly, 
and, for an eighth of a mile, is skirted with timber upon 
either side. The night was not dark, being starlight; and 
there was novelty in the whole scene presented before us, 
as we reached the terminus of the road. A large yard was 
enclosed by a high fence, with stairs by way of entrance. 
Some four or five steps were on the outside of the fence, a 
platform, perhaps two feet in width, above it, and as many 
steps on the inside. The occasion of such an uncouth 
arrangement I cannot divine, although it prevails all through 
the country. The houses of logs, making five or si;< rooms, 
stretch along parallel with the fence, and at some distance 
from it. The ground is still descending. The first effect upon 
one used to high lands is most singular. There is a feeling 
of oppression at the thought of dog-day heat, and inse- 
curity in spring floods. Several dogs gave us greeting as we 
alighted from the carriage and stumbled over the stairway. 
We were glad to be at the end of our evening's ride, — to 
feel safe after its insecurity. We had been off on a wild, 
untraveled road, to see a person who had sent for Mr. 
Pomeroy to come to see him, without telling him the 
reason of such message. He had urgentl}', however, 
pressed his coming. It w^as dark ere we reached his house, 
and, to show us a nearer way back, he look us down 
through fields and by-paths. He walked behind us, and I 
could not resist the inclination to turn my head occasion- 
ally to see what our guide might be doing. A foe in the 
front would have been more agreeable than in the rear, 
though the event proved there was no occasion for fear. 

We found Dr. Barker's family most hospitable and 
pleasant, and appreciated thankfully the prospect of a quiet 
resting-place for a few weeks after this long, wearisome 
journey. How cheerful the fire beamed a welcome, and 
how genial its heat after such a chilh^ ridel The great logs 
were rolled into the huge fireplace, and burned and crackled 



30 KANSAS. 

until every corner of .the room was light as day. Supper 
being over, we were soon in dream land; friends we had 
left were around us; the "loved and lost" were near. 

2'/th — The sun shining in at our windows disturbed our 
slumbers early, just before the little Indian girl came in to 
start a fire. One glance at the room was sufftcient to show 
that our host was not born in this western land. Books, 
pamphlets, pictures, vases, etc., were on all the tables, 
walls, and everywhere. Sixteen years ago they came to 
the West; and Dr. Barker has worked indefatigabl}^ for the 
best good of the Shawnees. As minister, teacher, and 
physician, he has labored for their physical as well as 
spiritual good, through summer's heat and winter's cold, 
by day and night, with unceasing effort. Through the evil 
reports and influence against him of Rev. Mr. Jolinson, his 
school has been discontinued. A colored woman, whom 
he assisted to gain her freedom, and two little Indian girls, 
are still in his family. Since this emigration to the terri- 
tory commenced, their house has been a pleasant honie for 
many on their way thither; some remaining with them six 
or eight weeks. Their kindness will be gratefully remem- 
bered by many. 

2gth. — The Missourians, for some daj's, have been pass- 
ing into the territory. They talk loudly of "fighting, and 
driving out the free-state men." They go armed and pro- 
visioned. There is nothing truer, however, than that 
"stillest waters run deepest;" and the most courageous men 
usually have no occasion to boast of their courage. 

30th. — It is the election day in the territory. We shall 
hope to hear something by to-morrow from Kansas. There 
are several families stopping here, mostly from Indiana, 
with some pleasant ladies among them. Their peculiari- 
ties of speech cause us to smile occasionally, while I dare 
say our Yankeeisms are as strange to them. This "feeling 
powerful bad" and "mighty weak" sounds oddly to us: 
so also when they say, "right smart chance of calicoes." 
There is a little English woman boarding here. She is 



EASTERN EMIGRATION BORDER MEN. 3I 

young and girlish. She was born in India, of English 
parents, and, upon their death, she came to this country. 
She is very artless and child like in her manner, and, I 
fear, will see some hardships in frontier life. 

jisL — It is a warm, sunn}' day. The spring flowers 
bloom in every sheltered nook. A lemon-colored flower, 
like adder's tongue in New England, bends its graceful 
stalk before the gentlest breeze. We have been out over to 
the high grounds overlooking the main road into the terri- 
tory for miles; and it is full of people of most desperate 
look. They come on horseback, in wagons, in carts; in 
fact, every sort of vehicle seems to have been put in requi- 
sition to convey these men into the territory. Now and 
then a carriage of more pretentions appeared, and was 
probably occupied by some of 'he leaders of the gang. 
The horses, as well as the men, look wearied out with their 
journey. 

Will these frauds be allowed? Or are they a part of the 
system connived at by a corrupt administration to force 
slavery into Kansas against the desire of the actual settlers? 
Mr. Pomeroy arrived from Lawrence this afternoon with a 
lady, Mrs. Edward Clark, who is going to visit some 
acquaintances in Independence, Mo. T^hey have passed 
many of the desperadoes, on their way, armed with all kinds 
of death-dealing instruments. They carried with them 
provisions and whiskey, and baked bread by the roadside. 

April 2d. — Mrs. C. left to-day for Independence. Mr. 
Joseph Savage and family, from New Hampshire, arrived. 
Their youngest little one sickened on the way, and they 
are now carrying it with them to Lawrence for burial. 
There is a good deal of sickness upon the river, especially 
among children. 

jd. — People are continually coming and going. Gentle- 
men leave their families here, while they look up a situation 
in the territory. They go into the nearest town to buy 
grain and feed for their horses, which are now very scarce 
and high. 



32 KANSAS. 

Towards evening, four gentlemen came in from Law- 
rence. The doctor, with others, soon came; and the num- 
ber continuall}' increased, until there were fourteen in from 
Lawrence. A ver}' pleasant family, who were our fellow- 
travelers a part of the way, have just arrived; Mrs. Nichols 
also, the Brattleboro' editress and earnest worker for the 
rights of women, with a young lady, soon to be her 
daughter-in-law. The son, and chief attraction to this 
young lady, was alread}^ in the territory. Had we just 
arrived in the West, we should have wondered where all 
could find resting places for the night; but we had been 
here long enough to know the expansiveness of western 
homes. 

4th. — The morning was bright and pleasant. More than 
fifty slept under the roof last night. I gave up my room to 
some of the new comers, anci slept on comfortables and 
buffalo-robes on the floor in the attic; and, with the excep- 
tion of an occasional tug at my pillow, or nibble at my 
finger, from some stray mouse, I never slept better. 

There is a rumor that it is the intention of those Missou- 
rians elected to the Legislature, by the votes of the over- 
whelming forces who went into the territory on the last 
week and voted on the 30th, to assassinate Gov. Reeder 
unless he grants certificates of election. They have so 
declared; and these high-minded gentlemen say also that 
"he can have fifteen minutes to decide whether he will 
give them the certificates, or be shot." Gov. Reeder has 
only allowed four days' time in which the protests against 
these frauds can be sent in. We fear in many districts the 
time will be too short to allow them to be canvassed. 
Besides, the persons who desire to do it are in danger of 
losing their lives in the attempt, a large number of Missou- 
lians declaring openly their intention to "remain in the 
territory until the four days are passed, and that they will 
Icill any one who endeavors to get signers to a protest." 
This threat will intimidate many. 

Word came from the Shawnee Mission that armed bands. 



EASTERN EiMIGRATION BORDER MEN. 33 

upon horseback and in carriages, were assembling there. 
The gentlemen who came from Lawrence had mostly gone 
over. As my husband set quietly writing, an express came, 
desiring his attendance also. There have been so many 
threats upon the part of the Missourians, that, had we any 
faith in their courage, we should have believed our friends 
in imminent peril to-day. As it was, we bade them God- 
speed with light hearts, expecting to see them again at 
sundown. At noon a messenger returned, and reported all 
quiet at the mission. Although the Missourians number 
considerably more than the actual settlers gathered there, 
they seemed to think their forces insufficient to justify an 
attack either upon Gov. Reeder or them. Gov. Reeder, 
having been loudly threatened with assassination unless he 
granted the certificates of election, examined the papers 
with pistols cocked near him. 

The members elect were holding caucuses during the 
day. One of the gentlemen from the territory was invited 
by an acquaintance to attend one of them; and he assured 
me, as he looked in upon them at his first entrance, their 
stolid faces, their disordered, rough dress, and their various 
attitudes, impressed him with anything rather than their 
wisdom. Some were lying on the benches, others sitting 
on the backs of the same; and he could hardly believe such 
a body of men desired to be considered grave legislators. 
From the appearance of one, at least, to whom a paper 
was given, who, after scanning it closely, gave it to him 
with a request that he should read it aloud, he judged he 
could not read his own mother tongue. 

^th. — In every district where the election was contested, 
and papers sent in showing fraud. Gov. Reeder refused to 
grant certificates. As we feared, however, the time allowed 
was so short, the protests could not reach the mission from 
a majority of the districts. 

6lh.—A day of quiet has passed, after the leaving of so 
many people. We went to Westport this morning. The 
country was most pleasant. The air was dry and balmy as 

3 



34 KANSAS. 

a day in June. The birds were carroUing among the 
bursting buds and new-springing leaves; the butterflies, 
flitting here and there, rejoiced in their young life. A 
part of the way lay through the woods, where a driver 
needs some skill to pass safely among the stumps. We 
met a party of the indians dressed in their native costume, 
in blankets and moccasins, with much paint upon them, 
feathers and a large quantity of beads. As I looked back, 
after we passed them, and saw one of them with most repul- 
sive face also scanning us sharply, with one hand apparently 
grasping a pistol or gun, I felt an involuntary shiver. I 
saw, however, at the next moment, it was only a childish 
fear, and that mutual curiosity actuated us. 

The Kaw Indians are the most uncultivated of all, while 
the Shawnees have made good advances in civilization. 
The}^ have houses, cultivate their lands, and wear the dress 
of Americans. 

8tli. — Attended the little white church upon the rolling 
prairie to-day. Standing as it does upon quite an eleva- 
tion, overlooking a great extent of woodland and prairie, 
being built with spire pointing heavenward, it reminds me 
of dear New England, and her pleasant villages scattered 
through all her valleys and upon all her hillsides. Being 
earl}-, I noticed the Indian worshipers. Many of the men 
seated themselves in little groups upon the grass, and 
entertained each other in their odd-sounding dialect. The 
women came on horseback, and, after tying their horses to 
the fence near by, came into the church, and maintained 
most strict decorum through the entire service. With the 
exception of the handkerchief on their heads, in place of 
bonnet, their style of dress differed in no way from our 
own. They admire rich materials, and gay colors, and the 
most of those I saw at church were clad in chameleon silks. 
The service, although we could understand only an occa- 
sional word, was very mipressive. The speakers, especial- 
ly the interpreters, had rich mellow voices. Their cjuick 
and varied intonations, their rapid mode of enunciation; 



EASTERN EMIGRATION BORDER MEN. 35 

their graceful and most expressive gestures, singularly 
enchain the attention of the hearers, and impress upon 
them the substance of the discourse. The interpreter was 
a fine-looking man, large, well-formed, and with intelligence 
speaking in every feature. 

gtli. — Doctor Robinson returned with Emily Hunt from 
Kansas City. She will go with him to Lawrence, and he 
will return for us in a few days. We have some apples 
sent us from Kansas City. How fresh and nice they taste 
in these warm spring days! I have been down to the 
creek, half a mile from the house, for water. The well 
here is nearly dry, and most of the water used in this large 
famil}' is brought from the creek. With assistance I suc- 
'ceeded in bringing up a six-quart pail half full of water. 
A young married lad}^ here, from Indiana, whose whole 
appearance gives evidence of unabated health, her lively 
ways bespeaking a rich fund of good nature, who said 
indeed "she never knew what it was to be tired," laughed 
merril}' at us, that we have accomplished so great a feat. 
I enjoyed the laugh as much as she, and am quite sure that 
it borders a good deal upon the ridiculous to go half a mile 
for water, and get only three quarts. But one's strength is 
not equal alwaj's to their will, and carrying water is entirely 
novel business for me. 

/////. — ^ Doctor left with E. this morning. Soon after 
the\- left we were attracted by the sound of carriage wheels, 
and looked out of the window to see what new comers 
had arrived. There was a hack stopping at the gate, and 
two ladies alighted. In descending the steps at the en- 
trance one of them tripped her foot and fell. From the 
hearty w.elcome which the ladies received, we knew they 
must be friends, and we were soon inti;<iduced to them as 
the sister and daughter of Dr. Barker. The daughter has 
not seen this western home since her remembrance, her 
parents having taken her on to New England when she was 
a mere child, and this is her first return, now that she is 
"budding into womanhood.'' How strangely all things — 



36 KANSAS. 

this log house and perfect solitude everywhere, fresh as 
she is from the sympathies, the gayeties, the never-ceasing 
prattle of young school-girls — must look to her! But most 
singular of all to be a stranger in one's father's house, where 
the countenances of the youngest of the flock are unfamiliar. 
Mrs. Reed is a person, the very first impression of whom 
will be that of her superiority, both mentally and morally, 
over most others; and we feel that if the mother in this 
Indian country must commit her child to another's care, 
she acted wisely in giving it to her charge. Mrs. Reed is 
seeking the boon of health in this change of residence. 

ijth. — One day here is like every other, save in an occa- 
sional change of faces around us, as the new comers arrive 
to take the places of others just leaving. We wrote, read, 
and walked out into the woods, or took a long walk upon 
the prairie. The woods near here were full of gooseberries 
and grape vines. Bitter-sweet and running roses wound 
their tendrils upon the branches, and climbed high among 
the trees. The red berries of the bitter-sweet were still 
hanging on the vines. We have tried to call upon an 
Indian family to-day. We followed the trail through the 
woods, succeeded in getting over a high fence which en- 
closed a large cultivated field in which the house stands, 
but found no one at home. 

14th. — We have been expecting the doctor to-day to take 
us to Lawrence. After such a journey as this, westward, 
one will be content with bare comforts, and humble abodes, 
where there is quiet, and one feels it is really home. There 
is truly "no place like home." At evening some gentle- 
men, in from Lawrence, reported our house cut down, and 
the workmen ordered to stop building, by Dr. Wood, a 
man notorious for the disturbances he has occasioned in 
Lawrence. 

i§th. — Doctor arrived at the mission in tlie early evening, 
and corroborates the statement of others. During his 
temporary absence from Lawrence, on the 13th, Dr. Wood 
and other choice spirits, armed with revolvers, went up to 



EASTERN EMIGRATION BORDER MEN. 37 

tlie house, and, after commanding the workmen to leave, 
commenced to cut off the timbers with an axe. The worl'C 
men, save the gentleman who had the work in charge, 
ceased their labor, saying they would do so until the 
doctor's return. These pro-slaver}^ men were determined he 
should have no house there, although for a long time, he 
had held the claim by another building; but, in his absence 
from the territory, one of these men attempted to "jump 
the claim." The next morning, the doctor went to the 
house, and the vv^orkmen returned to their labor. While 
at the house, he met Dr. Wood, who had gone out of 
Lawrence, swearing that "one of them had got to die that 
morning." He was, however, very quiet and peaceable. 
Doctor told him, "he should protect the house, but he 
could attempt to take it down any time he pleased." 

1 6th. — We went to Kansas City this morning, and made 
such purchases as we feared we might not be able to make 
at Lawrence, We met some very pleasant people, who 
were going to find a home in the territory, and returned to 
the mission at evening. 

/////. — We leave for Lawrence this morning. I have 
jus't been into the woods, after some rose and gooseberry 
bushes, not knowing whether I can get them near Law- 
rence. The horse is lame, having stood where the wind 
blew on him during the night. At *about nine o'clock our 
buggy was packed, and we also packed into it, and a 
carriage never held more or greater variety. There was 
one valise, three carpet-bags, baskets of crockery, umbrel- 
las, cloaks, bundles, stone pitcher, and a small basket of 
crackers and gingernuts. And in the midst of all this 
"phmder, " as the western people sa}', three of us were 
seated, two ladies in front, and the doctor behind. But 
alter being thus packed, with geometrical precision, that 
no square inch of space should be lost, we attempted to 
start. The liorse proved in such condition that we pro- 
posed walking, and giving him a ride. However, after a 
mile or two of snail-like progress, my husband walking, 



38 KANSAS. 

and raising the horse's spirit b}' the cheerful tones of his 
voice, we began again to cherish hopes of reaching Law- 
rence, which we had been brought to the point of relin- 
quishing altogether. 

We passed the Quaker Mission a little distance from the 
road, and the peach-trees all about it gave it a cheerful 
look. Our road lies over the high and rolling prairie, and 
never was fairer picture hung out between earth and 
heaven to feast the eyes of nature's lovers. The skv was 
cloudless and blue as ocean. The air was fragrant with 
the perfume of apple, plum and grape blossoms, which 
grew in clumps by the wayside, wherever we passed 
through small groves. Emerging from these, some new 
phase of scenery would cause new expressions of delight. 
Sometimes we would seem to be on the very height of the 
land, prairie stretching in all directions, noble forests 
marking the line of the rivers and creeks, while the mounds 
far away in the distance formed a complete amphitheatre. 

At another time we would be passing rapidly into what 
seemed to be the cultivated grounds of some private man- 
sion, over a smooth lawn, where the tall oaks and wal- 
nuts were grouped in admirable arrangement, and with 
such artistic beauty, in many places, that it was difficult to 
realize that art had done nothing here, but nature all. At 
one or two places we passed ledges, where, upon the high- 
est points, the stones were laid up in walls as regularly as 
if laid by stone-masons. There were deep ravines also to 
be crossed, which test the strength of one's nerves some- 
what. These are skirted with graceful trees, while the 
water in their pebbly beds is limpid and clear. Just beyond 
one of these, with the green branches interwoven above us to 
shut out the sunbeams, we rested, and dined as best we 
might on crackers and apples, which an acquaintance gave 
us, who was baiting his horse at the same spot, while ours 
nibbled his grass with a most satisfied look at the base of a 
tree. A large emigrant wagon was broken down near us, 
and their exertions to right matters for the rest of the 



EASTERN EMIGRATION — BORDER .MEN. 39 

journey, as well as their gypsy-like appearance in camp, 
added not a little to the interest of the half hour. The 
friend we had overtaken, Mr. Pike, would be our co-traveler 
the rest of the way. Our afternoon's ride was similar to 
that of the morning, with the exception of more company. 
The stage, filled with young men, settlers just arrived, 
overtook us in the afternoon, and was sometimes ahead of 
us, and sometimes in the rear, and the loud tones of the 
cheerful horn, frequently blown, awakened the musical 
echoes from prairie and dell. The prairie seemed higher, 
and for many miles at some points our vision was uninter- 
rupted. A few isolated Indian huts were passed occasion- 
ally, and a grave of an Indian warrior, with the skull of his 
horse and dog still lying upon it. These were to accom- 
pany him in the hunting grounds of the Great Spirit. We 
reached the Wakarusa as the golden sunlight was fading, 
fast fading, for we have no twilight here, no mountains 
behind which the sun sinks, still shedding its lingering 
beams upon earth and sky. We made our descent into the 
river's bed rapidly, for the bank is steep, and from a clear, 
gushing spring in the shadow of the trees overhanging the 
bank, quenched our thirst. A heavily-loaded wagon having 
reached the top of the opposite bank, and the horses 
proving refractory, has slid backwards into the river. It 
was no pleasant sight to us. However, we reached the top 
safely; and there were still six miles between us and our 
destination, our new home in fair Kansas. We drove on 
as swiftly as stumps in every direction in the woods would 
allow; the trees which stood most nearly in the road, being 
cut down, leaving a foot or more of the base, which required 
a good deal of expertness to avoid. After I had come so 
near running over a tree, that the gallant steed bearing us 
had reason to discover which was the harder of the two, 
his head or the tree, the doctor took the ribbons, and 
guided us onward through the gathering shadows. We 
saw the lights from the dwellings in Franklin as we passed. 
Another hour, and we were home; yes, home, after a 



40 KANSAS. 

journey of nearly two thousand miles, and five weeks among 
strangers, sometimes pinched witli cold, and sometimes 
suffocated with heat, crowded into dust}' cars, and jostled 
at every turn; tired, sick children, and worn out, impatient 
mothers everywhere. Give us fresh, pure air, cold water 
plent}', a shelter from the sun and rain, and we will call it 
home, and soon gather around us home comforts and home 
joys enough to verif}^ the truth, that the purest joys left of 
Eden are found under the home roof. 



CHAPTER IV. 



LAWRENCE. 



April i8. — Last evening we saw a light, which my hus- 
band said must be from our house, while we were three or 
lour miles distant. On arriving, we found our trunks, 
furniture and bedding had been carried to it. Although the 
iirst work done upon the house was upon the Friday before, 
after taking supper down street, we preferred going to it 
to stopping elsewhere. One room was clapboarded within 
a foot of the chamber-f^oor, loose boards were laid over the 
joists above to keep out the rains or falling dews. The 
windows were also similarly protected upon each side, 
while at the front the glass was set. There were mattresses 
btid upon the floor and upon the lounge, while upon the 
table a candle was burning, supported b}' a candlestick of 
entirely new invention, being a little block, perhaps three 
or four inches square, with four nails driven in to support 
tlie candle. A broom had also been provided, and a brim- 
ming pail of cold water. Blessings on him who was thus 
thoughtful of our comfort I By nailing a buffalo robe at 
the doorway, and arranging some articles of bedding upon 
chairs, out of one room we made two for the night. Sleep 
was never sweeter or more refreshing than last night, after 
a long drive, with the thermometer standing at one hundred 
degrees. 

Was awakened earh' this morning by a noise around the 
house, and, looking through a crack in the temporary 
partition, saw a cow very demurely examining the premises, 



42 KANSAS. 

having stationed herself in the quarter which -will soon be 
dignified with the name of dining-room. My anxiety was 
considerably relieved, as my thought on awakening was 
that we were visited by the same house-destroyers as a few 
days previous. 

When we came to look out upon Lawrence and the sur- 
rounding country, as we had nearly run through the vocab- 
ulary finding words to express our rapture at the ever- 
changing beauty of every part of our route, and as this 
view from our window, and from the hill beyond us, was 
the master-piece, silence expressed most truly our feelings, 
stirred as they were b}^ a divine hand. Tne house fronts 
the east, and is situated upon an elevation commanding a 
prospect unequalled for extent, or variety of loveliness, for 
miles in all directions. Half a mile to the north sits Law- 
rence, a little hamlet upon the prairie, whose fame has 
even now crossed the continent, awakening hopes and 
fears, in the hearts of many, for friends who for six months 
have battled with pioneer life. Malignity and hatred have 
been aroused in the souls of others, who see in this little 
gathering of dwellings of wood, thatch, and mud hovels, 
the promise of a new state, glorious in its future. 

The town reaches to the river, whose further shore is 
skirted with a line of beautiful timber, while bej'ond all 
rise the Delaware lands, which in the distance have all the 
appearance of cultivated fields and orchards, and form a 
back-ground to the picture of singular loveliness. To the 
eastward the prairie stretches away eight or ten miles, and 
we can scarcely help believing that the ocean lies beyond 
the low range of hills meeting the horizon. The line of 
travel from the east, or from Kansas City, passes into the 
territory by this way. Blue Mound rises in the south-east, 
and, with the shadows resting over it, looks green and 
velvety. A line of timber between us and Blue Mound 
marks the course of the Wakarusa, while beyond the eye 
rests upon a country diversified in surface, sloping hills, 
finely rolling prairies, and timbered creeks. A half mile 



LAWRENCE. 43 

to the south of us, Mount Oread, upon which our house 
stands, becomes 3et more elevated, and over the top of it 
passes the great California road. West of us also is a high 
hill, a half a mile in the distance, with a beautiful valley 
lying between, while to the north-west there is the most 
delightful mingling together of hill, valley, prairie, wood- 
land and river. As far as the eye rests, we see the humble 
dwellings of the pioneer, with other improvements. 

igtli. — A dark, dull day; almost raining. We sit with 
cloaks and bonnet on to keep warm, and sew a little. 
Have some calls. We walk to the door occasionalh', — 
which will, when hung, open into the other room, — for- 
getting it will not open at one's bidding now. It is cramped 
up to stay in one room always, though, as I hoped before 
leaving Massachusetts, we "have out-of-doors a plenty."' 
Doctor brings from town our dinner, to save our going 
down. It consists of slices of cold ham, cookies and 
doughnuts. We laugh at him because he brought no 
bread, which is worth more than all. 

loih. — A slight rain to-day. The flowers are springing all 
over the hill-side; purple and straw-color being the pre- 
vailing colors. A little lilac-colored flower, of fern-leaf 
variety, fragil and beautiful, grows under every step, and 
yellow flowers, resembling lupine, are everywhere. The 
hammering, the continual pounding of a dozen workmen is 
confusing and we walk out upon the brow of the hill for 
quiet and rest. How lovely nature has made this Kansas 
valley, and yet it seems as if, from a full lap of treasured 
gems, she had poured out the fairest here! More ham and 
cake to-day, — no bread. Our merriment over it will aid 
digestion, even though it be cake and ham. 

2 1 St. — The floor in the dining room is laid. The win- 
dows are in. The door between the rooms is taken awa}-, 
and the stove is set, with the pipe out of the window, after 
the true pioneer fashion. The stove, however, will put 
one's ingenuity to work in using, it being second-hand. 
Having been used six months in a boarding-house, not the 



44 KANSAS. 

most carefull}", the furniture is minus; and what there is, 
is of unknown use to me. There is one large iron boiler, 
wliich would cover the whole front of the stove, one broken 
gridiron, one large dripping-pan, two tin boilers holding 
six or eight quarts, one of which, near the top, has a nose, 
the other, close to the bottom, has a spout. The furniture, 
which is the minus quantity, are iron kettles, tea-kettle, 
spider, sliovel and tongs. However, we get supper, stew 
apples, — brought from Massachusetts, — and have biscuits 
without butter. It is a real Graham supper, with cold 
water. Provisions are scarce. 

2 2d. — The old Westminster catechism allows works of 
necessity and mercy to be done on the Sabbath day, and 
we baked some pies; but had breakfast of simple griddle 
cakes with syrup, made of sugar and water. Even the 
shade of Sylvester Graham might have looked on approv- 
ingl}'. We are in danger of no intermittents from clogged 
liver at present. So far, so good. We read and write all 
day Just at evening walked on the hill above, near the first 
camping ground. A gentleman and lady from Massachu 
setts, Mr. and Mrs. Wilder, came in. They live not far 
from us. The lady, with a large family of boarders, seven- 
teen in all, in one little room, seemed disheartened. They 
had had some sickness, too. They feel the change from 
comforts to privations. 

The slit-work for the stairway is set, and we are antici- 
pating the time when we can .get into the second story. 
How our friends in the East would pity us, did they know 
just how we live; but I dare say there is not one in a 
hundred of them who enjoys the half we do. We are 
deprived of no comforts, that is, of anything essential to 
our happiness; for, coming to the real root of the matter, 
every one will find that the externals have but little to do 
with a person's real enjoyment. We have the pure, fresh 
air, in abundance; we have fine, even spirits, and we feel 
that to live, to breathe in such a country, is a joy, espe- 
cially on a day' like this. 



LAWRENCE. 45 

Under the hill where the sun shines dimmer. 

Shrunk from the eager beam, 
The work goes on with a fitful glimmer, 

And music for a dream. 

"Over the groves and moistened meadows 
The steady gray hawks wing, 
And down below in the shifting shadows 
The merry small birds sing." 

Mr. Coates, from Philadelphia, a gentleman of most 
polished manners and brilliant address, is here to-night. 

24th. — Doctor Robinson returned last night, after we had 
retired to rest. The town was full, and his friend returned 
with him. The doctor made a bed, that is, laid down a 
buffalo robe on the floor, and, putting another at the door, 
formed a sleeping apartment of the kitchen and dining- 
room, pro fan. He was missing before we awakened in 
the morning. 

We can get no butter, no syrup, no milk, no potatoes. 
There is an abundance of nothing save cheese, beef, ham, 
and sugar. We made doughnuts, and after a consultation 
fried them in a two-quart tin upon the top of the stove. 
The smoke of the fire seems to have some strange attrac- 
tion into the room, and Emily and I take turns going out 
upon the staging to turn the pipe, with like success each 
time, not being able to move it at all. However, as the 
smoke poured out more and more with every extra whiff of 
the wind, and promised to add a seasoning to our cooking 
which we had not intended, we went each time to test our 
strength, hoping the emergency had brought an addition. 
Some strangers called, and, in a room sixteen feet by 
twelve, containing lounge, table, eight trunks, two dry 
goods boxes, and chest, besides chairs, there was no extra 
room. 

2jt/i. — Doctor accompanied three other gentlemen upon 
a tour of discovery into the country two or three hundred 
miles. They will be gone ten days. They dined with us be- 
fore leaving. They are used to the simplicity of Kansas fare 



46 KANSAS. 

at present, else I should have been embarrassed in setting 
it before them. An old gentleman will do errands and 
take care of ever3'thing in doctor's absence. We hear 
the wolves howling at night, and the bells on the cattle 
that have an attachment for this hill keep me awake. 

26th. — A most delightful da}'. It seems wicked not to 
gather new life and cull enjoyment from the bright skies 
and blooming prairies. Soon had the horse put into har- 
ness, and was bounding over them. We wanted to call 
upon a friend, Mrs. Haskell, who was of our party from 
Massachusetts. We could see her house plainly from ours, 
but took the wrong road when nearly there. 

We came upon an abrupt ravine, and Kate Kelogg, the 
young lady with me, said she must get out. I tried to per- 
suade her to remain — that I would take her safely over; but 
my persuasions were useless, and she alighted. "Old Gray" 
and I went through it alone, all right. We soon, however, 
came upon a second ravine, where even he declined going. 
He said, as plainly as words could, that he wouldn't go; but 
in a twinkling he started off a little to the right, and came 
upon another and more traveled road, where there was a 
bridge, rudely constructed, but safe. A few minutes more 
passed, and we met our friend at her little log cabin door. 
Everything looked comfortable, she was glad to see us, 
and we enjoyed our call much. We took a different route 
home, and found so many beautiful flowers, each one 
seeming more lovely than the last, that we hardly could be 
satisfied unless we gathered them all. 

2 J til. — In the afternoon, horse and buggy were again put 
into requisition for a two miles' drive in search of the 
friend we met at the mission. She had lived nearly all 
her life in Boston, and was wholly unaccustomed to hard- 
ships, and unused to many things in domestic economy 
with which country people are familiar, although they may 
never have lent their own hands to the work. By instinct, 
almost, we found the cabin on the edge of a bluff, looking 
as if some high wind might take it over; but the door 



LAWRENCE. 47 

opened upon a fineh' rolling prairie, dotted all over with 
flowers, which, in variety of color, vied with the rainbow. 

The cabin was of wood, and small, yet with bed nicely 
dressed in snow}' linen, little table with white cover, upon 
which were placed a Chinese work-box and vase of flowers, 
easy-chairs, of home manufacture, just ready for the stuffed 
covers; a stranger would at once perceive that the presid- 
ing genius of all, fragile and slight, dressed in gingham of 
the smallest plaid, with linen collar, had come from far 
New England; and, whether the home be humble or lofty, 
elegance and taste would bring out their treasures to make 
it pleasant. Her husband a New Yorker by birth, by 
profession a lawyer, a poet, and musician, allured by the 
health-giving clearness of Kansas atmosphere, had sought 
and found that inestimable treasure. He came in while we 
were there; had driven home a cow just purchased. It was 
decided, against my earnest protest, that she should be 
milked, and that I should carry the milk home with me. 
It was but four o'clock in the afternoon — an unusual time 
for milking, I was sure; but they thought one time would 
do as well as another, and persisted in it, and I carried 
home the first milking, which proved much to my chagrin 
when I heard of it the last for that day. 

2gth. — We attended church. How strangely everything 
appeared! The hall where the meetings are held is in a 
two-stor}^ wooden building. It is simply boarded with 
cotton-wood, and that, to a person in the country, is ex- 
planation sufficient of its whole appearance; for the sun 
here soon curls the boards, every one shrinking from every 
other, leaving large cracks between. For a desk to 
support the gilded morocco-covered Bible, sent to the 
Pl}'mouth church, a rough box, turned endwise, and 
standing near one end of the hall, was used. The singers, 
with seraphine, were seated upon one side of the preacher, 
while upon the other side, also fronting the desk, were 
other seats— rough boards, used until the settees are fin- 
ished. All this seemed rough and uncouth, and at the first 



48 KANSAS. 

moment we felt that two thousand miles lay between us 
and the pleasant sanctuaries of our fathers, where they 
tread the aisles on soft carpets, listen to the word read from 
its resting-place of richest velvet, and to the pealing organ's 
deep, rich tones. But when we looked on the pleasant faces 
around us, so familiar all in look, in manner, in attire, and 
the services commenced with the singing of hymns learned 
long ago, and we heard, in the persuasive, winning tones 
of the preacher, the same heavenly truths which will 
render one's life here as holy as elsewhere, let us so will it, 
;^ we felt that New England was in our midst. "We realized 
more fully the truth, which has been pervading our thoughts 
for many days, that "a man's life consisteth not inthe abun- 
dance of the things which he possesseth." Happiness 
does not consist in the furnishings of the upholsterer. It 
may be as pure and unalloyed in "gypsy tent as in palace 
hall." Most of us have come to this far-away land, with a 
mission in our hearts, a mission to the dark-browed race, 
and hoping here to stay the surging tide of slavery, to 
place that barrier which utters, in unmistakable language, 
"Thus far shalt thou go, and no further." This unlocks 
our hearts to each other, and at once we recognize a friend 
actuated by like sympathies and hopes. 

At the Sabbath school many children were gathered, who 
entered with zest into the exercises, while there were 
learners older in 3^ears, young men, buoyant in the active 
life opening before them, and some with whom gray hairs 
were honorable. 



CHAPTER V. 



KANSAS HOMES. 



Mrs. Taft, a young lady from Boston, is dead. Just one 
year from the day of Jier marriage she was attired for the 
grave. In this early spring, when nature is so beautiful in 
young leaves and opening buds, and full of promise, the 
hopes of the young husband are blasted. Earth and sk}- 
wear a pall. Slowly the mourners wind through the prai- 
rie, and over the high hill beyond us, to the lowly cemetery. 
We all feel that death is indeed here. It has, v/ith unerring 
aim, stricken down the young and beautiful. Tenderly we 
would offer sympathy, realizing well that "every heart 
knoweth its own bitterness" in hours of bereavement, and 
shrinks from many words, though kindly spoken. 

Death to us here, away from one's early friends, one's 
old home, has more than its usual significance, and the 
tidings of one laid low in our little settlement awakens a 
thoughfulness and a tenderness for the bereaved and heart- 
stricken, which in the old homes we felt not, save for a 
dear friend. We make their sorrow, their utter loneliness, 
our own. So different is it from the olden towns, where 
life is crowded, and if, in the bustle and jostling of each 
other, one now and then falls, the crowd presses on, and 
the gap closes. Here, there is a sad feeling for many and 
many a day, and we realize that changes as sudden may 
await us all. 

We have showers to-day, quick, pouring showers, and in 
the intervals the sunlight seems intense with its life-giving 

4 



50 KANSAS. 

powers. How nature is robing herself in the richest green! 
For hours I have looked out upon her changing forms, with 
many crowding thoughts of home, of friends scattered all 
through New England dells and mountains — of friends 
passed onward into the spirit life, whose presence is at all 
times near me, but with peculiar vividness to-da}-; of the 
duties of life, especially those resting upon us in this age, 
when the spirit of liberty, of manliness even, is giving away 
before the increasing thirst for gold, which is the god of this 
country. I have watched the new and varied phase of 
those noble trees across the river. How the leaves grow! 
How the rain-drops glitter like gems, as the sun, with 
clouds passed by, shines out brilliantly again; and as the 
bow of promise spanned all, this thought, like it, was born 
of the sunshine and the shower. 

We are passing through hours of imminent danger to the 
liberties of the country. "The old landmarks have been 
removed," and "men have framed mischief by law." Yet, 
serenely above all this commotion, this treachery, this 
fraud of man, holding the seals of justice, sits God upon 
his throne. And out of all, in his own good time, he will 
again bring the reign of righteous men, and the laws of our 
country shall have for their basis love and truth. Give us 
courage to act when the hour calls for action, and faith to 
wait when endurance is our cross. We in Kansas can see 
with clear vision the workings of this hydra-headed mon- 
ster, whose seat is at Washington, and whose power 
emanates therefrom, and whose unholy name is Human 
Slavery. 

May 2d. — "Old Gray" is lent to a friend to-day; so we 
lose our intended ride. Mr. Simpson brings us a basket 
of eggs from the Delaware country. We are beginning to 
get more articles which seem essential in house-keeping at 
home, but which are difiRcult to get here, as many people 
are ready to take them the moment they are brought in. 
Many of the newcomers neglect to provide themselves with 
the staples of life at Kansas City; so, as soon as flour and 



KANSAS HOMES. 5 I 

groceries are brought in here, they take them back into the 
country, leaving us a continual dearth. Somehow, by the 
happy genius of invention, of which long ago riecessity was 
acknowledged the mother, we have always had enough of 
the good things of this life, and have most faithfully fol- 
lowed the last clause of the injunction which the rich man 
in Scripture lays to his soul, "eat, drink, and be merry.''' 

Mr. Whitlock, the old gentleman who acts for us in the 
capacity of prime minister of all work about the house, in 
the occasional absence — I might more truthfully say occa- 
sional presence at home — -of my husband, croaks a good 
deal, that we "will have a famine in the autumn — that 
starvation will drive us far from the country," because, 
forsooth, to-da}' there is no flour in town. It seems to me 
quite probable, while flour is plenty in Missouri at three 
and a half dollars per sack, and sells here at six and a half, 
that the Missourians will bring it over; not so much out of 
friendly regard for us, "poor Massachusetts paupers," as 
of interested feeling for their pockeis. In that at least I 
have implicit trust. E. goes on an exploring expedition 
for veast, and is successful in getting some which looks 
neither "lively" nor clean. Indeed, it looks as though 
some very strong chemical action must be brought to bear 
upon it, in order to raise good bread. 

jd. — Towards night was glad to welcome to our house 
Miss Lewis, a young lady, also a fellow-traveler upon the 
river. The family with whom she traveled are exceedingly 
fine people. They are intending to settle in Manhattan, 
upon the Big Blue, seventy-five or one hundred miles from 
here. The country there is called by many more beautiful 
than this, yet they who go there must possess courage 
beyond mine to live so far from any steam line of commu- 
nication with the states. 

Like most Kansas emigrants, this young lady and her 
friends have tasted the hardships of pioneer life. On 
leaving Kansas City three days since, and getting out of 
town a short distance, their horses became entirely unman- 



52 



KANSAS. 



ageable. Notwithstanding the deep mud, owing to the 
recent heavy showers, the ladies were set out into it, and 
for quite a distance carried the children in their arms. The 
effort being ineffectual towards further progress that night, 
they camped by the road-side and slept amid the dampness 
and falling rain. 

They have also been visited with sickness. While Rev. 
Mr. Dennison, after great prostration, has recovered, the 
little one, the "pet lamb" of the flock, has "gone home," 
without tasting earth's trials, or breasting its stormy floods. 

^th — I sent E. to my nearest neighbor's this morning for 
milk; without success, however. Among all these cows 
which are grazing over all the hills, reminding one continu- 
ally of the sweet pictures of pastoral life, where the cattle 
feed upon a thousand hills, and the dwellers of the land make 
their homes in tents, it seems strange that milk is so difficult 
to procure. E. finds more acquaintances at Mr. Savage's, 
and they too are "passing under the rod." The wing of 
the dark angel is hovering near to bear away a little child, 
whose pallor now rivals the linen which the wan cheek 
presses. 

We go out to ride over these glorious old prairies, where 
till now the moccasined foot of the Indian has alone 
pressed the soil. We called for a friend and rode several 
miles. How I have longed for my eastern friends to be 
with me in such pleasure-drives as these, that I might hear 
their bursts of enthusiasm at sight of this world where 
nature has been prodigal, or their exclamations of fear as 
we approach some deep ravine lying between us and the 
fairy land beyond! Flowers of every shade of color, and 
every variety of form, would entice us beyond the bounds, 
and my assurance of safe passage over would calm their 
fears. Tame to them as to me would seem the everyday 
dull rotine of conventional life, its old beaten track of set 
forms and ceremonies, from wliich if one deviates, criti- 
cism, the stern censor of society, labels him as odd, eccen- 
tric, simple, or independent. Freedom is a blessed thing, 



KANSAS HOMES. 53 

and thrice blessed is freedom of will, freedom of intellect, 
freedom of action. 

The little wan child is dead. The measles have been 
fatal here beyond all experience. The bereaved sister will 
stay with us to-night. 

J///. — I rose early this morning. As I reached the dining- 
room, with my foot on the last stair, a movement of the 
door, a rustling attracts my attention. The buffalo robe is 
pulled away, and a familiar face fills the small gap. After 
little ceremony I run to tell E. that her father has come — 
just from Massachusetts and home. How the questions 
crowd upon him, and how strangely it seems to us that, in 
the two months of our absence from Fitchburg, something of 
greater moment has not happened! While we have been 
passing through new scenes, continually meeting people 
from all parts of the Union, with their peculiarities awaken- 
ing an interest in us, and giving zest to their conversation, 
each day varied with some new incident, we are looking for 
something new and strange from home. 

Some ladies from Massachusetts soon call. One of them 
came with the second New England company, and has 
been through the heats of the day. They brought a boquet, 
which for beauty would compare favorably with any green- 
house collection. As they pranced their horses gaylyfrom 
the door, and over the table land between us and the brow 
of the hill north, nothing could have looked finer. 

The evening shadows fall, another week is at an end, 
and seated around the table we are writing to home friends, 
when there is a new rattling at the rickety door-step, and, 
almost before we can turn to see, doctor comes in under 
the buffalo robe. He has been just ten days from home. 
The pleasant light shining from the windows gave him, in 
advance of us, a glad welcome. They had been two 
hundred miles back in the country, and there as here a 
most delightful region invites settlement. 

6th. — Exclamations of delight from E.'s room called me 
early from mine. Words poorly convey an idea of the ex- 



54 KANSAS. 

ceeding beauty of the scene. A mist was slowly ascending 
from the river. The sun, in a chariot of fire, was mounting 
upwards from a bed of golden clouds, and his beams 
encircled earth, air and sky, in a halo of glory; the mist 
still rising became a silver sheen; through which the foliage 
on the further bank looked yet more green and brilliant. 
It was a beautiful harbinger of the Sabbath morning, which 
to man brings peace and quiet here, and offers glory in the 
unending ages. The quiet of the day is most grateful. 
Before time for service, Mr. Pomeroy came in from 
"Fish's," nine miles from here, in the Shawnee Reserve. 
We attended church and Sabbath school. In the evening 
sang Whittier's gem of a Kansas song. Some beautiful 
boquets were passed in at the door. They were fairy gifts, 
the giver remaining unseen. 

jth. — The grass is getting so high, and we are so far 
from the road, Mr. W. spends a long forenoon in beating 
down the grass, and making a wide path. We ride out 
again to see our Boston friend, Mrs. Clark. She has been 
trying to churn, with the cream in a large tin pail, and a 
large square place cut in the cover for the dasher. She 
churned and her husband churned, until they were both 
weary, and of the opinion that country life has its cares 
as well as pleasures. A new thought came to the gentle- 
man—he had seen some one pour in cold water to facilitate 
the butter-making, as it began to look like coming. No 
sooner thought than acted upon; but the butter, alas! 
remained cream in statu quo. The day before, a large 
rattlesnake, attracted by the genial warmth near the stove, 
had, without waiting for invitation, or being assured of a 
welcome, crawled in through a huge crack, and stretched 
out his three feet of length. With a scream or two on the 
part of the lady, and some dexterous and telling blows by 
a stronger arm, his snakeship was rendered harmless, 
though a most ugly object. I noticed a bottle of medicine 
on the little white covered table, and over it pinned upon 
the wall a recipe for rattlesnake bites, and a sure cure. 



KANSAS HOMES. 55 

Upon our leaving, my friend was determined to share 
with me the unfortunate cream. So, with one six-quart 
pail of cream, and another of milk, and a pretty bunch of 
flowers, we started for home. It was no easy matter to 
carry such full measures without spilling; but, by very 
careful driving down the hills, the friend with me carrying 
one pail while we steadied the other in the bottom of the 
wagon, we reached Lawrence in safety. 

8tli. — I wanted to boil eggs at noon, but, as many times 
before, when proposing to cook something new, a dilemma 
arose. This time it came in the lack of a kettle to be used. 
Doctor's experience in roughing it in G^lifornia was again 
useful, and upon his suggestion the eggs came out of the 
copper boiler properly cooked. A gentleman in at dinner 
spoke of some beautiful straw-colored flowers he had seen 
on the hill above us. E. and I started off, after dinner, 
with shovel in hand, to get some for transplanting. We 
went half a mile and found a number of very beautiful 
bunches, but, after persevering efforts, were obliged to 
leave them, their firmly-set roots still clinging to the soil. 
We took up a few rose-bushes to set about the house. 

Among the stones down the side of the ledge, a little 
blue flower, with lily-like leaf, looked out temptingly; and 
carefully, being most fearful of a fall, I clambered down, 
and was paid for all my trouble, all my labor in working 
upon roots I could not remove, in the realization of the 
fact that one of our garden favorites, the graceful spider- 
worth, grows wild here. 

The house is full of company this evening, and, with the 
open partitions, there is no quiet anywhere. Dr. Clark, a 
practicing physician here, who came from Georgia recently, 
and his brother-in-law, Dr. Prentiss, just arrived, are the 
last who call. They are very gentlemanly men, of northern 
birth, education and intelligence, with southern ease of 
manner. Very many of this class of people are looking to 
Kansas for a home — a home free from the curse, the blight- 
ing mildew of slavery, with genial climate, and the inter- 



56 KANSAS. 

course of enlightened, refined people, surrounded b}' the 
institutions of free labor. 

gth. — Our stove smoked terribly. We move it from the 
west to the south window before noon, and, as the wind 
changed before night, returned it to its old place. Mr. 
Grover dug up for us some of the straw-colored flowers, 
which must be a variety of evening primrose. 

loth — Doctor went to Topeka. We moved the dressing 
bureau up stairs, which until now has served us for a 
cupboard. We cut prairie hay, and put down carpet in 
front room. A young lady, who came to the territor}' in 
the autumn, called. She has enjoyed life here very much. 
Our new book-case was brought up at evening. It is of 
black walnut, of Kansas manufacture, and very pretty. 
E. and I spent the whole evening arranging books. 

nth.' — ^We hung pictures and engravings on the unfin- 
ished walls, and the parlor really begins to have a pleasant 
look. Doctor came home. He says we have something 
new every time he goes away, and he proposes to stay 
altogether, that we may get all things in order. The truth 
is, when he is at home, the house is at all hours full of 
company, and we are busily employed in looking after their 
physical wants. There is seldom a meal that we have only 
our own family of five, and, more often than otherwise, the 
strangers number more than we. 

I2th. — A most curious fish was sent in from Topeka 
to-day. It has a long, projecting, sword-shaped upper 
jaw, and no lower jaw, — the mouth being an opening in 
the under side of the upper one. After being stuffed, it 
will be sent to Boston. A lady from Maine, who has been 
located on the hill west of us for a week or two, calls to 
say they have concluded to leave Kansas. Her husband 
is much pleased with the country, but the mills do not 
supply all the lumber people want just now, and he thinks 
he can't wait. A good deal of lumber has been sawed, but 
as we remember that the claims for ten miles around 
Lawrence are all taken, and that they depend upon the 



KANSAS HOMES. 57 

mills here for lumber, we can easily see that there must be 
a scarcity, and that each person must be content with little 
for the time being. 

ijth. — I attendejd a Sabbath school to-day, four miles 
out on the California road. There were quite a number of 
children present, with some older persons. Some little 
English girls were very bright and interesting. The fam- 
ily of Mr. Lyon, at whose house the school was held, are 
from Ohio. They are such good people that one feels it 
in their presence, and sincerity and unselfishness are man- 
ifested in their actions. They have long been earnest 
workers in the cause of humanity — have "fed the hungry, 
clothed -the naked," and given the "cup of cold water" to 
the fainting soul. I attempted to hear a class of girls, 
whose ages varied from fourteen to eighteen, recite. The}' 
were all from the West, and mostly from Missouri. Some 
of them were bright, quick girls, but with one or two I 
puzzled my brains to know how to ask questions simply 
enough to be understood. They had no ideas of their own 
existence or of God. 

i^tli — The thunder rolls in deafening peals, reverber- 
ating across the hills, and the lightenings are one continual 
flash. There is not a moment that the forked, angry 
lightnings do not dart chain-like in every and all directions, 
making the whole country as light as noon-day. Objects 
miles distant are as clearly seen as by the sun's light. 
The rains come down a pouring, tumultuous flood, and the 
winds blow wildly, threatening to overturn every thing 
before them. The house being so unfinished, the saddle- 
boards not yet on the roof, the staging still standing around 
it, with crockery covering tables in the dining-room, and 
no back door, my presence was needed in several places at 
the same moment. While attempting to move my bed so 
the rains would not float it off, there was a rattling of glass 
below stairs. As I reached the lower room, Mr. Whitlock 
emerged from the other one, and asked. "Are you afraid 
the house will blow over?" 



58 KANSAS. 

Upon my replying, "O, no. I am not afraid of anything," 
he seemed satisfied, and as quickly disappeared. 

Concluding, from this present phase of the matter, I need 
expect no aid from my "prime minister," I went out and 
took down as much of the staging as I could — those pieces 
which were partl}'^ loose and striking the house. The 
shower lasted for hours. Although I have been among the 
Green Mountains when most severe showers raged there, 
and the reverberating roar was incessant, I never experi- 
enced anything equal in sublimity and grandeur to this. 

ijth. — The night brought another shower — if possible, 
more severe than that of last night. All the evening the 
lightning flashed in every direction; but at midnight the 
thunders sounded, the great drops fell. The grand artil- 
lery of heaven could hardly be distinguished from the noise 
of the furious blasts of wind and fast-flowing streams, 
which seemed to scorn all old-fashioned showers. The 
shower came from the west, and there was nothing to break 
its force as it beat upon the house in full fury. There was 
a crash below. Hastily as possible I descended the stair- 
way against the driving wind and pelting rain, which came 
full upon me the moment I stepped on to the staircase, 
almost taking away my breath. The door had been hung 
the day before; but the slight button which fastened it 
together was like a flaxen string before the gale, and the 
door with great force had been driven back against the 
wall. It was impossible to remove so much crockery and 
glassware, which, on account of the unfinished cupboard, 
was still standing round, to any secure place; and it was 
but the work of a moment with me to "haul" a trunk of the 
largest size, filled with carpets, against the door after 
closing it. The next moment found trunk and me in the 
middle of the floor, and door again wide open. Another 
effort must be made; and, quicker than thought, or any 
calculations as to strength, the trunk was replaced, and a 
large black-walnut dining-table brought up against it. 

At this juncture of affairs, the old gentleman made his 



KANSAS HOMES. 59 

appearance; and, after some casual remarks upon the 
weather, by way of suggestion, I spoke of adjusting the 
pipe, as it looked likely to fall. He looked at it rather 
suspiciously, though keeping at a safe distance from it, 
should some extra breath tottle it over, and, without com- 
ment, made good his retreat. I was amused, and pitied 
his fears; then took down the pipe that it might occasion 
me no more thought. The storm lasted several hours, 
as on the previous night. It was quite impossible to shade 
one's eyes from the continual glare, and sleep came not 
until tlie morning shadows were breaking. 

i6t]i. — One expected this morning to see some devasta- 
tion — some remnant or vestige of last night's work — but 
earth never put on a more smiling face. There was no 
evidence of the lightning's dread power, although often in 
the night there was an unmistakable sound of its striking 
near. Instead of the valleys being full of water, and the 
earth a perfect sea, its thirsty pores had drank in all, and 
naught remained to tell of it save the grass bending .under 
its heavy weight of glistening rain-drops. 

For ten long months the drouth had been unprecedented. 
Many times a little cloud had arisen, awakening hopes of 
rain; but the cloud had passed by. In any other country 
than this, vegetation would have been entirely killed, root 
and branch dried up; but before the rains came, even the 
gentle showers, the grass was clothing the naked earth in 
a mantle of greenness, and flowers, fairy-like in their 
gracefulness, were blooming in every sheltered nook. 
Now the "windows of heaven were opened," as in old 
time. The rains came and the winds blew. Earth was 
gladdened in her vegetable life, and in her hidden springs. 
From many a dry spot, heretofore, the clear gushing waters 
came. 

ijth. — A most glorious morning. How gayly all nature 
looks'. The woods over in the Delaware country are 
clothed in every shade of green, from the most delicate to 
the deepest sea-green, while beautiful browns and blue are 



6o , KANSAS. 

intermingled. Until now I have never longed for the 
artist's skill in conveying to canvas these living pictures of 
beauty by the master's hand — more beautiful than that of 
any earthl}'^ limner, inasmuch as the heavenly is above the 
earthly. Never until now have I revelled in such manifold 
and different shades of coloring, or felt so deeply my own 
insignificance beneath creative power. We admire, we 
worship, we adore, when His presence speaks in the love- 
liness of this Eden. We feel it in the voice of his thun- 
ders — in their unwritten magnificence and grandeur. 

Take a walk down to the town, and call upon one of our 
fellow-travelers, Mrs. Litchfield. We find her in a little 
cabin of mud walls, cotton-wood- roof, and with cloth 
covering the inside. It is tent-shaped, and ver}'^ small. 
There is an earth}^ smell and a stifled feeling as I enter the 
low door; and, as I at a glance see the want of comfort 
pervading all, I scarcely can find courage to ask how she 
likes Kansas. A bed, standing crosswise, fills up one 
entire end of the cabin, leaving only about eight feet square 
of space for the family, consisting of father, mother, and 
four little girls under six years. Two rough benches, 
about two feet in length, and two rude tables, make up the 
furniture. The cooking is done out of doors, after camp 
fashion. The children have been very ill, and the little 
one tosses restlessly in its fevered dreams. 

I talked cheerfully of the homes we hoped to have when 
a few months are passed— of the comforts, the institutions, 
which we will gather around us; but my heart is sad for 
the little, frail, heart-broken looking woman and her four 
little ones, and involuntarilj' my mind questions whether 
like cares shall make their young girlhood wear the look 
of age. I can bear no longer the oppression, the feeling 
that the walls will come together, crushing, me like a mere 
shadow between them; and, with a promise to come again, 
breathe most thankfully the unconfined fresh air. 

The mail is in, and, in the office of a friend near by the 
postofifice, we wait for its distribution. Letters from home 



KANSAS HOMES. 6l 

are a pleasant reward. I met Mr. Coates of Philadelphia, 
who says, "Doctor has returned home with a carriage-load 
of company." There surely is no end to the company. 
The house now is full in every corner. I give up my room 
again, and make two extra beds on the floor. I am not 
yet rested from my journej^ and the constant excite- 
ment since. Now there is an ungoverned, noisy child, — a 
continual presence, — and no quiet place in the house 
where I can find a safe retreat. Several more strangers 
were in, in the evening. A gentleman, just arrived from 
Massachusetts, is very ill, and sends up for doctor's attend- 
ance upon him. Doctor brought from Missouri a jar of 
butter — the first we have had — and some potatoes. 

igth. — A large carriage-load went down to the Wakarusa 
to visit the proposed site of a new town. I enjoyed the 
quiet occasioned by their absence beyond measure, and 
realize more fully than ever the truth of the injunction: 
"Be to thyself a palace, 
Else the world will be thy jail." 

They returned late in the evening, much pleased with 
the country and scenery. Their adventures in crossing the 
Wakarusa at high water, occasioned more merriment in 
the retrospect than in the moment when the water was 
coming into the carriage-body over the top. They were 
delayed an hour by the straying off of one of their party, 
which came near preventing their return that night, as the 
water was rising verv fast. 

20th — -AH went to church save E. and I, and tlie three- 
year-old boy, who intended to rule every one around him. 
A little decision proved very salutary with him, and we 
had a quiet morning. As we were nearly through supper 
a whistle sounded. Each one of us looked at ever}' other 
in blank astonishment, until some one said, "It is the 
cars." The thought of a boat occurred to me, and was 
quickly spoken. The table was vacated in a trice. Some 
were looking out of the windows and doors, while others 
ran to the chamber windows. A steamboat was really in 



62 KANSAS. 

sight, and a pretty object she was as she floated gracefully 
towards the landing, now behind this building, and now 
that, with the tall old forest for a background. A friend 
brings in some wild strawberries. How they bring back 
days long ago, when we knew where the sweetest grew, 
and with nierr}' school-friends, traveled far for them 
through the dim woods down into the meadow! 

2ist. — A bright May morning, clear and sunny, remind- 
ing one of the beautiful poem of Willis: 

"The spring is here — the delicate footed May — 
With its slight fingers full of leaves and flowers. 
And with it comes a thirst to be away, 

Wasting in wood-paths its voluptuous hours; 
A feeling that is like a sense of wings, 
Restless to soar above its perishing things." 

The heat in the afternoon was equal to July weather at 
home, and the new jar of butter is fast approaching the 
fluid state. It has to be removed from one place to 
another, sometimes in the house, and sometimes on the 
shady side out of the house, to find the coolest place. We 
propose various ways for keeping it hard, such as digging 
a place in the ground large enough for the jar; but, at the 
suggestion of one of the Boston gentlemen, Mr. E. B. 
Whitman, who was interested in the matter, we decided 
upon the refrigerator as by far the greatest convenience. 

To-morrow is the day set for the election of representa- 
tives in the contested districts. We hear the Missonrians 
are coming to take possession of the polls as before. A 
party of horsemen rode in this afternoon over College Hill, 
west of us, and at first we thought the report of Missonri- 
ans coming might be true. The gay blankets, bare heads, 
and shining ornaments, soon showed them to be a party of 
Kaw Indians. Mr. Simpson was assaulted to-day by a 
bitter pro-slavery man. 

22d. — Election day, and all was quiet. Only eleven pro- 
slavery votes polled in this district. A very pleasant lady, 
Mrs. Allen, from New York, is spending the day. A 
young gentleman, S. C. Smith, one of our Kansas party. 



KANSAS HOMES. 63 

called. He has a claim on the Wakarusa, with which he 
is much pleased. Some families of his acquaintance, also 
of our part3% are equally pleased. More gentlemen to tea. 
We boil ham for doctor, who will leave with three gentle- 
men on a pleasure trip, or exploring tour, into the country. 

23d. — Doctor left with his party on their prospecting 
journey this morning. It is quite an undertaking to get 
started on such an expedition, as the}' are obliged to take 
a good stock of provisions and cooking utensils, so that if 
their route takes them far from any settlers they will not 
be reduced to starvation. For such trips, usually we pack 
a ham, dried meat, hard bread, sugar, a bottle of syrup, 
cheese, a small box with knives, forks and spoons, and little 
papers of pepper and salt. Tin cups for drinking, with 
canteens, are also indispensable. Blankets and comfort- 
ables for camping are not to be forgotten; also provisions 
for the horses. 

Our cupboard was completed to-day, and we have cleared 
all the tables of crockery. Our house gives promise now 
of being in reality a house at no distant day. 

24th. — The timbers are drawn for the kitchen. We are 
to have another room sixteen feet by twelve, and with 
doors opening directly opposite each other. It will be 
delightful and cool. A large chest, which we have used 
for a cupboard since the removal of the bureau, is moved 
up the stairwa}^, and finds a place just fitting it near the 
head. We find behind it a missing pie, whose sudden 
disappearance had been a mystery, and awakened some 
fears of the too neighborly inclinations of prairie wolves, 
or the nightly visitation of some hungry traveler; our open 
doors and unfastened windows furnishing no safeguard 
against anj^ who choose to enter. 

The roads for many days have been full of wagons — 
white-covered, emigrant wagons. We cannot look out of 
the windows without seeing a number, either upon the 
road through the prairie east of us, which comes in from 
Kansas City, where most emigrants leave the boats and 



64 KANSAS. 

buy wagons and provisions for the journey, or going on the 
hill west, on their way to Topeka, or other settlements 
above. 

The prairie, too, is alive with people, coming and going. 
Some are upon horseback, and others in carriages of east- 
ern manufacture; while the busy teams, carrying stone for 
the hotel and other large buildings, give to the whole town 
an appearance of unprecedented thrift which renders the 
name of Yankee Town, bestowed upon it by border friends, 
richly merited. At night we see the camp-fires all about us, 
on the prairies and in the ravines. The appearance of the 
men, preparing their evening meal, is singularly grotesque 
and gypsy-like. 

26th. — Some young ladies called at the house early this 
morning. They were just in the territor}' from Ohio, and 
came up from town to admire the prospect from Mount 
Oread. We have similar calls almost daily, while fre- 
quently for hours there are persons sitting upon the brow 
of the hill beyond us. A few days since a rather young- 
looking man called. He was a clergyman, and had buried 
his wife not long before. He had come to Kansas with 
his children, the eldest of whom, a little girl of not more 
than ten summers, was his housekeeper. I have never 
heard of them since. 

We spend the day with our friend, Mrs. Clark, two miles 
in the country, who sends a carriage for us. The hills on 
our way look like one vast garden. Elegant bunches of 
foxglove stand by the wayside, lifting most proudly their 
tall spikes of purple, lilac and white flowers, from a 
beautiful base of dark lustrous green leaves; straw color, 
orange, and every variety of shade of pinks, from white to 
deepest red, add their blended beauty. Our road, after 
leaving the great California road, than which there was 
never a finer one, is uneven, and we pass several abrupt 
ravines. We see the house, or, more properl}-, the frame, 
a long time before reaching it, and are constantly expecting 
to be at the door; but we have to learn, what every one 



KANSAS HOMES. 65 

else does in these prairies, that eyes unaccustomed cannot 
judge correctly of distances. 

We found the lady much excited, and glad of our arrival, 
as she had had some very unwelcome visitors in the absence 
of her husband. Being also half a mile from the nearest 
neighbor, rendered it yet more unpleasant. A large party 
of Kaw Indians had passed the house, while three of the 
stragglers made a call. They examined daguerreotypes and 
jewelry lying on the book-case, and by signs manifested their 
desire for them. The lady remained firm in her refusal, 
and they relinquished the idea of appropriating them. 
They soon made signs for something to eat, and, after 
being most abundantly supplied with meat and bread, one 
of them, the most repulsive of all, made a circle on the 
floor, and signs of cutting it, then pointing to his mouth to 
represent that a pie should be set before them. To comply 
with such request being considered unnecessary, it was 
refused; whereupon the young Indian pulled away a curtain, 
at one end of the room, concealing some shelves, and, with 
boisterous exclamations of delight brought out some pies. 
Seating themselves around them, they were also soon de- 
voured. When we arrived the visitors had scarcely left. 

The house, which, when finished will contain two rooms 
on the lower floor, with an equal number upon the upper, 
is now only boarded upon one end, and partially upon the 
sides, enclosing one room, while the partition, which will 
be between the rooms when the whole outside is finished, 
but is now the only protection on the north, is partly of 
wood and partly of cloth; the roof, also, is shingled over 
the south part. The cooking utensils and stove are out of 
doors. 

In such houses as these, exposed to all the vicissitudes 
of climate and weather, and all the discomforts of such a 
life, there is many a person fresh from all the elegancies, 
the refinements clustering about a home in our eastern 
cities. The most I have met bear these hardships cheer- 
fully, and hopefully looking to the hour when Kansas shall 



66 KANSAS. 

come into the glorious sisterhood of states, herself untram- 
meled by the dark rule of slavery. These privations seem 
naught in the anticipation of such an hour. This spot is 
a most delightful location for a house. The bluffs, in a 
semi-circular form, partially enclose a lovely prairie of 
quarter of mile in width between them. The house stands 
near the center, between the northern and southern ridge, 
while the bluff rises on the west very near the house. A 
lovely prairie stretches away nearly two miles eastward, 
with wood-skirted ravines, and Lawrence rising on an 
eminence bej^ond. Means alone are needed to make the 
grounds as beautiful as any one could desire; and our 
friends who have chosen the spot for a Kansas home are 
reveling in golden anticipations for the future. 

We ride home as the sun is setting behind massive 
clouds in orange and violet, in fantastic shapes, resembling 
Chinese pagodas and temples. The muttermgs of the 
thunder, when we are a little distant from home, warn us 
of the near approach of another shower, and b}' dint of 
much persuasion our friends remained with us during the 
night. 

2Yth. — A pleasant morning. The face of the earth looks 
bright after such a drenching. We laugh at my night 
adventure. I gave up m}^ own room to ni}^ friends, and, 
hastily taking some buffalo robes from the wood-pile, made a 
bed of them, and of comforters upon the floor in E.'s room. 
Having been a little time asleep was awakened by a quick, 
stinging pain in my hand, and the consequent thought of 
a rattlesnake. The dampness about the window had 
ruined the matches which lay near, and I could strikeno 
light from any of them. To aid me, however, it still occa- 
sionally lightened faintly, and I felt secure in walking over 
as much of the floor as would be revealed in the light: and 
slowly, every inch of the staircase being thus scrutinized 
that I might not step on an}^ snake, if snake it were, I 
reached the dining-room and struck a light. Then I care- 
fully shook every article composing my bed, hunted 



KANSAS HOMES. 67 

behind trunks and in every corner, and found nothing, 
though the pain in my hand continued the same. Just as 
I was preparing to blow out the light again, one of the 
girls, looking over the foot of the bedstead, says, "What 
are 3'ou doing?" and was much amused at my repl}', "I am 
hunting rattlesnakes!" 

The pain in m}'' hand was probably the effects of imagi- 
nation, as we had been speaking of rattlesnakes the day 
before — of several houses where they had been found coiled 
up among the logs, and of one which very unceremoniously 
had crawled in between two persons occupying a bed in a 
tent. 

We went to the Sabbath school in the country with Mr. 
Simpson. Near the close of the exercises the young man. 
Hopper, who made the brutal attack upon Mr. Simpson, 
a few days before, came in with four or five young men. If 
their faces were any index to their character, they ivere fit- 
ting companions for him. They seated themselves quietl}'^, 
and offered no violence. If they came with such inten- 
tions, the circumstances, or it is not impossible that the 
good in them for the time outweighed the evil, brutal 
nature, and prevented their execution. 

Towards evening we heard that Mr. Nute, the clergyman 
sent out by the Unitarian Association, would preach upon 
Capitol Hill, and we saw the people already gathering. 
The scene was impressive. The preacher stood while the 
audience sat upon rough seats and stones upon the summit 
of the hill. Earth had never spread out a fairer picture 
than this lying before us. At one glance the eye rested 
upon river, forest, mountain and prairie, miles and miles 
distant as well as near, and the last rays of the setting sun 
shed a halo of glory over all. The novel circumstances 
under which we met were touched upon; our leaving the 
old homes among the eastern hills to find a new one in the 
"waiting West," and the hope which actuates one and all 
of seeing the same institutions flourish here, which makes 
life desirable there. The protecting care and guidance of 



68 KANSAS. 

the same kind Parent are still over and around us. He 
provides for us this beautiful temple, "not made with 
hands," in which to worship him; and if from our work 
here he calls us home, he offers heaven with its "eternal 
mansions." 

Mr. Nute was for some years the pastor of a dearly loved 
friend of mine, of whom she often spoke, and in this way 
he seems to me like an old friend. We are glad he has 
come among us with his genial sympathies, his heart 
warmth, his earnest ways, his outspoken words of truth, 
and his abiding love for freedom and the right. We need 
such manliness among us, in this new, unsettled state of 
things; such men, with unwearying confidence in God, 
and the humanity of men; with whom the love for a dis- 
tressed brother is more than one's faith in creeds, and 
whose faith is strong that in doing good to one's fellow 
we show our love to God. That men are born of the times 
is an old adage. That men, needed for the times, may 
arise ready for the work in Kansas, ministers as well as 
laymen, men of nerve, of principle, "wise as serpents, and 
harmless as doves," is our continual hope. Most propi- 
tious, as well as most disastrous, in its influences upon this 
territory, will be the effect of the institutions now planted 
here. 

joth. — More rain has fallen to-day, though the clouds 
cleared away at noon. There has been no day yet, since 
we came, that the sun has not shone. The Sabbath school 
children from three schools are to have a celebration on 
the morrow. 

Death has again come into our little settlement, and 
taken one of its most loved, most useful members. Since 
my coming, the prattling infant, like the dying away 
of the summer wind, has faded and fallen. The bride 
of a year, with her young hopes still fresh, still gayly 
looking into the future,— earth's future — has passed 
beyond the unseen veil, and the prairie grass waves over 
her. Ties of children, the unutterable love of a mother 



KANSAS HOMES. 69 

who would leave them orphans indeed, could not bribe the 
death-angel, and she too has entered the shadowy land. 
But now, the strong man, with the harness of duty on, has 
fallen at his post. Yesterday he was as well as usual, and 
to-day he is not. It comes so suddenly upon us, we cannot 
realize that Dr. Clark is dead. 

Hard as it ever is to realize that death is more than a 
brief parting, that our friends will not return, until time 
and their long absence force the sad truth upon us, doubly 
so is it in this case, where but yesterday his patients shared 
his care. How sadly will this intelligence fall upon the 
ear of his brother, now absent on a tour of the territory! 
With the stricken friends of his Massachusetts home we 
can almost feel the shrinking heart, the over powering 
oppression, the utter desolation of earth, as the missive 
bears to them the mournful intelligence. Earth has its 
thorny ways, and hedged about with sorrows. Among the 
saddest of them is for friends we love so well to die in a 
far-off home, and we be not there. 

No one more than Dr. Clark had the esteem, the love of 
the people, and their grief is heartfelt and sincere. 

There has been much sickness on the Wakarusa, and for 
many days the doctor had taken no rest. Last evening, at 
tea-time, he said he felt better than usual. He was soon 
after taken with the disease, which, owing to the exhausted 
state of his system, quickly ended in death. The procession 
is now winding over the hill to the place of graves. 



CHAPTER VI. 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. 



June 1st. — The weather is as cold as that of an October 
morning in New England. The stove having been removed 
into the kitchen, as soon as the roof was on, we ate our 
breakfasts in a cold dining-room, with large shawls and 
cloaks drawn around us. The wind was rising, and, as we 
attempted to accomplish necessary work by the stove, we 
found it almost impossible to keep any heat in it. We 
attempted to nail up buffalo-robes to break the wind, but 
they came down as fast as we could put them up. Some 
gentlemen, on the hill beyond us, new comers, looking 
upon the beauty of the country, seeing our efforts, came to 
our assistance; but their labors in curbing the wind were 
as futile as ours, and we only had the exercise and sport of 
seeing our plans fail. We were kept awake a long time, 
last night, by the barking of wolves. They make a shrill, 
quick bark, and, when a number are together, the sound is 
deafening. They are harmless, however, always running 
from man. The most trouble they give us is m eating off 
the ropes with which we picket out the horses at night. 
They eat them so smoothly as to look like being cut with a 
knife, and what we have occasionally thought must be 
charged upon emigrants camping in the valley, in want of 
a rope, we find is wholly owing to the sharp teeth of the 
coyotes. Doctor returned yesterday from his tour west. 
Dr. Prentiss heard of the death of his brother-in-law a few 
miles from here. 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. 71 

2d. — The first communion Sabbath since I have been 
here. As the table is spread, and the few members gather 
around, the promise of the Saviour, "where two or three 
are gathered together in my name, there will I be in the 
midst of them," seems peculiarly significant and impres- 
sive. He knoweth those who seek to follow him, and with 
his strength will aid their weakness. We hide the promise 
in our hearts, with new lessons of humility, and go out 
from the "upper chamber," striving to learn aright the 
meek, suffering patience of Jesus, which will fit us to be 
his co-workers here. The gem of patience is among the 
greatest of the Christian virtues, and blessed is he who 
wears the jewel in his heart. 

jd. — Doctor has gone to a funeral some miles away. If 
he does not go himself, on all such occasions, his carriage 
does. The person now dead clung to her jewels. She 
wore bracelets, rings, etc., until her last breath. Life to 
her must have consisted in externals; and a weary home 
Kansas must have been, with its cotton-wood, "shake" 
cabins, bare floors, and general discomfort. 

There has been a good deal of cholera a few miles from 
here, mostly among Missourians. They lived in most 
abject filth, and drank of the stagnant water in the bed of 
the Wakarusa, when the water was at its lowest, from ten 
months' drouth. One instance of sickness seems almost 
incredible among civilized people, but there is no doubt" of 
its correctness. The father and mother were ill — very ill. 
The cabin was very small, untidy, and would of itself 
almost breed disease. Dr. Clark proposed that the chil- 
dren, who were adults, should occupy a tent near by, for 
their own safety, and yet attend upon the sick. The next 
morning, what a sight met the kind physician's eyes, as he 
entered the cabin! One of the parents was lying on the 
bed, dead; the other was still living, though with little 
breath left. A little water was standing by the bed; and 
no one had been in but once since the time of the doctor's 
», leaving the day before. Thus forsaken of their children, 



72 KANSAS. 

they died. Such heartlessness, such barbarity, we can 
scarcely believe would exist among any people. 

6t]i. — With a friend, who has been several days with me, 
I visited one of the early pioneers. She lived three months 
in a cloth tent, and now resides in a log house, which she 
renders pleasant, by her tact hiding every rudeness. She 
talked gail)^ of their tent life, and we learned much of the 
roughness of pioneer life at the outset. 

We staid so long, that E. was fearful we were lost, on 
the prairie, and was just about setting lights in the windows 
for our guidance, as we reached home. Getting lost on 
the prairie in the darkness is an easy matter; and it has 
happened here, several times, that persons have wandered 
around nearly all night, trying to find the town, when at 
no time the}' were more than half a mile from it. 

jth. — Mr. Hunt was very ill with an attack of pleurisy. 
Doctor being absent, I felt anxious, yet did the best I could. 
A mustard plaster and some simples removed the difficulty 
of breathing, and he slept quietly.' He said he never 
was as sick before, but I was thinking he imagined himself 
sicker than he was. Just before night, and as I was won- 
dering where E. could be, she came in, pale and almost 
breathless, with just enough of life left to say, "O, that rattle- 
snake!" I laughed at her at first; but being convinced 
that seeing a snake of some kind wag a reality to her, and 
not quite liking the idea of their making a home in our 
neighborhood, we started out with shovel and hatchet for a 
battle. The spot where she saw him was very easily found, 
as the pail she had in her hand, while coming up tlie path from 
the spring, she set down when she came upon him. She 
had heard a buzzing noise, like that made by a large grass- 
hopper, for some minutes; but her attention was attracted 
by a small bird flying backward and forward across the 
path, and no great height above it, and did not, therefore, 
perceive the snake until she was within a foot of him. 
Hastily setting down the pail, as he lay there coiled ready 
to spring, she took another path to the house. We looked 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. 73 

along both paths, above and below, and far out on the hill- 
side, but found nothing. His fright was undoubtedly equal 
to E. 's, not being particularly partial to the cold bath she 
gave him in setting down her pail so hastil}'. 

gt]i. — Leave home early to spend the day with a sick 
friend; find her quite ill, lying on a straw pallet on the 
floor. One small window and door, at the other end of 
the room., afforded all the air there was; and about every- 
thing there was a general look of discomfort. Many a person 
in health has bravely battled with the ills and privations of 
Kansas life; but when the pulse 4:hrobs with fevered heat, 
and disease is making a wreck of one's self and every 
energy, the mind turns sadly backward to the pleasant 
home, and yearns for the kind friends there with an 
irresistible longing. With baking for the family in the 
sun's glaring rays, and taking care of the invalid, I was 
wear}', and thankful for our own home-roof, which has 
more of comfort. 

lOth. — Was awakened by a little tree-toad on my pillow 
this morning. He must have climbed up the low roof of 
the ell part, and in at the window. I found a mouse in 
the tub, and a swallow came into the kitchen flapping his 
wings wildl}', and seeming much frightened, as we were at 
breakfast. I am wondering if all the "four-footed beasts 
and creeping things" have appointed a place of rendezvous 
upon our premises; and suggest, laughingly, that "the 
rattlesnakes will come next." Scarcely had we finished 
breakfast, before the cry from near the wood-pile was, 
"Here 's a snake!" It measured about eighteen inches in 
length, was ugly-looking, and had four rattles. 

The people are talking much of what shall be done in 
view of the oppression forced upon us. Men armed with 
guns, revolvers, and bowie-knives, from another state, have 
carried the elections, driving the actual settlers from the 
polls with threats of certain death. A memorial, stating 
these facts, has been sent on to Congress; but no relief 
comes, — no promise of any. This Legislature soon pro- 



74 KANSAS. 

poses to hold its session, and enact laws for the people of 
this territory. The}', many of them residents of Missouri, 
and all of them elected by Missouri votes, ignorant and 
brutal men, having gained their election at the point of the 
bowie-knife, intend to enact laws to govern an enlightened 
and intelligent people. The question is, shall the laws, 
whatever they may be, be boldly repudiated as no laws for 
us, the makers being not of us; or shall the matter be 
delayed until the so-called Legislature meets? A few days 
will decide the course to be pursued by our people; and 
whatever is done will be done thoughtfully, and with a view 
to the greatest and most permanent good of the country. 

I2th. — It rained gently all the morning. In the after- 
noon the clouds cleared away, and we took a pleasant tramp 
over the hills. We met a party of Indians. Scarcely a 
day passes that motley groups of Delawares are not in our 
streets. Instead of going to Missouri for their groceries 
and clothing, as formerly, they come to Lawrence. They 
are very friendly, and look upon the rapid growth of the 
little town near them with as much apparent surprise as 
we would upon actual creations like the brain pictures in 
fairy tales. 

Large stone buildings, which would be an ornament to 
any place, are fast being erected, while buildings of humble 
pretentions, of wood and stone, are springing up with a 
rapidity almost equaling the wonderful genius of Aladdin. 
We can count already fifty dwellings erected since we 
came; and the little city of less than a year's existence will, 
in intelligence, refinement, and moral worth, compare most 
favorably with many New England towns of six times its 
number of inhabitants. 

Many people were in, in the evening. The wind was 
blowing, and I heard a rustling near me. I looked, but 
saw nothing. An hour later, as I relinquished my seat, 
and went to make arrangements for extra beds, a gentle- 
man very positively said, "I hear a rattlesnake." Near 
where I had been sitting, the yellow-spotted reptile had 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE, 75 

crawled in between the last floor-board and the siding, and 
already his head had reached the window-casing. We had 
serious objections to his further progress towards the 
chambers, or to his greater length of days. After a mo- 
ment's more envenomed rattling, all was still. Like the 
other, he had four rattles, and was undoubtedly looking for 
his lost mate. One of the gentlemen, Judge Conway, to 
whom the front room had been appropriated as a sleeping 
apartment, the mattrass being removed each morning, felt 
nervous about such companions for bedfellows, and, to be 
prepared against the possible contingency of another 
similar visit, turned his boot-tops into one another upon 
retiring. 

i^ih. — We heard at midnight the rapid approach of a 
horseman, and soon the loud halloa, with a western brogue, 
sounded at the door. Mrs. Clark was very ill with cholera, 
and "the doctor must go immediately over. " He hunted 
up his horse on the hill-side, and went, first sending to 
another physician down street to be there as quickly as 
possible, as he had no medicine. Friends in the East 
know nothing of the evils which lie around the path of the 
new settler when sickness comes. Surrounded by the aids 
which science has brought to bear against disease, and by 
all the blessings of a thickl}' settled community, they can- 
not realize liow death stares one in the face often in these 
isolated spots, when the case is urgent, and help far away. 

In this instance the husband had left home, early in the 
evening, to attend a meeting in Lawrence, some two miles 
distant, leaving with his wife, who was but just recovering 
from illness, a young friend. Over-exertion during the day 
had somewhat prostrated her, and now cramps and the 
most urgent symptoms of cholera came upon her with fear- 
ful severity. What could be done? They were a full half- 
mile from any neighbor. It was night, and there was no 
one to send for help. Every remedy which the house 
afforded was tried, with poor success, the patient losing 
courage with her loss of strength. At ten o'clock her hus- 



76 KANSAS. 

band returned, and, seeing at a glance the need of instant 
relief, started for a neighbor, who went for a physician. 

ijtJi. — The doctor brought up a nice side-saddle from 
town, and, upon my asking whose it was, he replied, "It is 
a present for Mrs. R." To my question, "From whom?" 
he said, "From him who gets her the most of her things." 

"Old Gray" was soon saddled, and I was on his back to 
find my way over the prairies to spend another day with 
sickness. Towards evening, as the horse was saddled, and 
I was ready to return home, we noticed some threatening 
clouds, and a shower just upon us. As it promised to be 
but slight, and of short duration, I concluded to remain 
until it had passed, in preference to a drenching, and two 
miles' ride in it. The shower once commenced, there 
seemed no end to it; and, when an hour had passed away, 
the wind was still blowing in unabated fury, the rain failing 
in "rivers of waters," while there was one incessant peal 
and crash of thunders, and the whole heavens a perfect 
blaze of dazzling light. I abandoned all hope of seeing 
home that night; and the question now was, how could we 
avoid being wet by the rain, which came boisterously in 
from the north? For a while I sat and read, in the corner 
most removed from the exposed side; but the wind sud- 
denly shifted, and by agility alone I escaped the deluge 
pouring in from the east. No place was now secure but 
the little corner where the straw pallet lay, with the sick 
lady, weak and nervous, tossing restlessly, and wishing the 
heavy shower would cease. To avoid cold and sickness, 
wrapping myself in blankets, I lay down upon the bed, 
which we supposed the rain would not reach. In all prev- 
ious showers this had been the dry corner; but the rains 
were searching. Soon, buffalo robe upon the bed, and 
umbrella spread over our heads, so arranged that the water 
should run off on the floor, was our only protection. Yet 
we slept at last, wearied out by the furious raging of the 
elements, and hearing, as the last thing, the pattering rain- 
drops upon the umbrella. 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. 77 

iStJi. — The morning sun never shown more brightly than 
now. We found everything in the house damp, but had 
taken no cold. The cholera patient was doing well. The 
gentleman of the house assured me he slept well, but it was 
a mystery to me where he found a dry nook. Had a fine 
ride home in the early morning light, which gives to every 
object a double value. "Old Gray" nibbled at the "com- 
pass plant," which always points northward in these prai- 
ries, occasionally cropping its bright yellow flowers with a 
satisfied air as he trotted along. The rattlesnake weed was 
also blooming in profusion. Nature is ever mindful of the 
needs of her children, and provides an antidote against the 
bane of rattlesnakes, and a sure guide over the wide 
prairie in the compass plant. When I reached home, 
found the doctor gone to attend upon a broken limb. A 
man, in rafting logs down the river, had met with this mis- 
fortune. The doctor has many calls professionally, and, 
though he assures them all that he is not now a practising 
physician, he looks in upon many to advise them. 

I gill. — It was just eleven and a half by the clock when a 
carriage-load drove up from Kansas City. We completed 
our work at four p. m. We had more company over night. 
We had arranged a cot bed to sleep on for the night in the 
dining-room, and I was just planning my morrow's work 
before I slept, when the window came in with a frightful 
crash. With a quick spring, we avoided the effects of 
broken glass, which fell on the bed and all over the floor. 
The window was not permanently cased, and the heavy 
wind of the Monday night previous had loosened the nails. 

2ist. — A gentleman, just up from Kansas City, brought 
me some letters which I had long expected, and which had 
been lying thete for weeks. He brought intelligence also 
of Stringfellow's attack upon Gov. Reeder for the main- 
tenance of an honest opinion. Preparations are being made 
by our people to celebrate the coming Fourth of July. At 
this time, when Freedom is but a name; when three mil- 
lions of human beings, created in the divine image, are sold 



7H KANSAS. 

as chattels in a country boasting of liberty: when the two 
hundred thousand slaveholders are using every endeavor to 
enslave the twenty-five millions of our countrymen, and we 
in Kansas already feel the iron heel of the oppressor, mak- 
ing us truly white slaves, — we will celebrate it by a new 
Declaration of our Independence, and in the God of our 
fathers trust that he will lead us safely through this Red 
Sea of evil, until we plant our feet securely on freedom's 
bulwarks, having passed from this worse than Eg3^ptian 
bondage. 

July 4th. — The morning of the Fourth came in cloudy, 
yet pleasant. Word had been sent to the people on the 
Wakarusa, and many were expected. Invitations also were 
sent to the Delaware and Shawnee Indians to mingle in our 
festivities. Froth the elevated position of our house we saw 
the people gathering from all quarters. Several teams, 
of oxen as well as horses, the roughness of the vehicles 
being hidden under garlands of green leaves and flowers, 
came in from the Wakarusa. A beautiful flag was pre- 
sented by Mrs. Gates to the military companies of Lawrence, 
in an appropriate speech in behalf of the ladies of Lawrence. 
After its acceptance, the procession formed upon Massa- 
chusetts street, and was escorted by the military to a fine 
grove about a mile west of town. Here, in one of Nature's 
grand old forests, seats had been provided, and a platform 
raised for the orators and other speakers, for the singers 
and musical instruments. The number present was var- 
iously estimated from fifteen hundred to two thousand. It 
was a motley gathering. There were many people with 
eastern dress and manner, and settlers from Missouri, and 
other far western states, no less distinctly marked by theirs. 
The Delawares and the Shawnees added no little to the 
interest of the occasion. After the reading of the Decla- 
ration of Independence, whose embodied truths seemed to 
have gained new vitality, new force, since we last listened 
to it, came the oration. It was, for the most part, a gather- 
ing together of the opinions of southern men upon the vexed 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. 79 

question of slavery. There were confessions as to the rela- 
tive value of free and slave labor by some of their best edu- 
cated men. There was a most perfect condemnation of the 
whole system from their own mouths. Then the question 
of our own position, in regard to the encroachments of a 
neighboring state, was touched upon, with the firm deter- 
mination to assert our rights, and maintain them. There 
were speeches, songs, and sentiments. We received 
friendl}' words of welcome from the chiefs of the Delawares 
and Shawnees. 

The following is the oration of Dr. Robinson on this 
occasion: 

"This day, the 79th anniversary of the Declaration of American Inde- 
pendence, finds us in a new and strange country, and surrounded by cir- 
cumstances interesting and peculiar. While the echoes of the booming 
cannons are reverberating among our native hills, and the merry peals of 
the church-going bells are announcing to the world the rejoicings of a great 
arid prosperous people, that their days of weakness, suffering and thral- 
dom are past, we are now in a remote wilderness, to found a new state 
and to plant anew the institutions of our patriotic ancestors. It is a day 
to us of peculiar significance. While we would pay a tribute of respect 
to that period which, in the annals of this nation, will ever be regarded as 
most sacred; while with one accord and one voice, we worship in the 
temple of liberty, uncontaminated by party distinctions or sectional 
animosities, and unite in the endeavor to raise some fitting memento of a 
nation's gratitude for the declarations of that day, the most glorious in 
the history of a mighty people, we should also gather lessons of instruc- 
tion from the past by which to be guided in the erection of a new state in 
the heart of this great Republic. * * * * * 

"The Colonies, both north and south made common cause against the 
indignities and outrages heaped upon a part of the country, and united 
in a general convention of representatives from different Colonies, to 
devise ways and means for the common safety. The result of their 
deliberations was the Declaration of Independence, to the reading of 
which we have this day listened. The truths of that ever memorable 
document were as old as the Christian religion, but their adoption as the 
rule of faith and practise by a vigorous and growing nation marked an 
era in the history of the world unprecedented. A belief in the equality 
of man and the sacredness of life and liberty therein expressed can be 
cherished only by those who believe "that all the nations who dwell upon 
the face of the earth are made of one blood." The establishment of 
these principles cost our ancestors a struggle with the mother country of 



8o KANSAS. 

seven years' duration. No sacrifice was counted too dear to secure to the 
people of these United States the right to govern themselves, to choose 
their own rulers, make their own laws, and worship God in their own 
way. Peace at length was proclaimed throughout the land, and close in 
her footsteps came prosperity, which has continued with but little inter- 
ruption till the present time. 

"One lesson the history of our Government should teach us who have 
chosen Kansas for our home, and that is especially applicable to the instruc- 
tion of this day, viz: the more closely the principles of the Declaration of 
Independence are followed as the basis of Government, and the more uni- 
versal they are made in their application, the more prosperous the Govern- 
ment and people. 

"As the people of Kansas Territory are to-day the subjects of a foreign 
state, as laws are now being imposed upon us by the citizens of Missouri, 
for the sole purpose of forcing upon this Territory the institution of 
slavery, I surely need make no apology for devoting the few moments 
allotted me on this occasion to an examination of the effects of that insti- 
tution upon a state and people, whether politically, morally, or socially. 
I ask you not to-day to listen to arguments of abolitionists, or for abo- 
litionism. I wish not now to wage war upon slavery or slave holders in 
any state of this Union, or to interfere in any respect with our neighbors' 
affairs, but it is for ourselves, our families, our own institutions and our 
prosperity — it is for Kansas I ask your attention. Is it politic, is it for our 
moral, intellectual, or pecuniary advancement to submit to the dictation 
of a foreign power in regard to our laws and institutions? This is the 
question that deeply interests us all, and for the consideration of which 
the day is most appropriate. ***** 

"The following are but a few paragraphs of the volumes that might be 
quoted to prove the blessings of liberty and the evils of slavery. Liberty, 
the goddess to whom the day is dedicated, showers upon her votaries 
peace and prosperity, intelligence and enterprise, morality and religion. 
The inspirer and guide of Washington and the patriotic fathers, may she 
become the presiding genius of our beautiful Kansas? Slavery, the oppo- 
site and antagonist of Liberty, the ruin of nations, the impoverisher 
of states, the demoralizer of communities, the curse of the world, and 
child of hell, may she go to her own place. On this day and on this 
occasion we may speak freely, assured that no offense can be given by the 
strongest expression in favor of freedom, or in opposition to slavery, as no 
one who is in favor of the latter can join in the celebration of the day. 
No person who does not hold these truths to be self-evident, "that all 
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with cer- 
tain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit 
of happiness," can consistently participate in the festivities of this day — 
nay, should we fail to speak in utter detestation of slavery, and to hurl 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. Hi 

defiance at the monster on this anniversary of freedom's natal day, 
especially when the tyrant has already placed his foot upon our own 
necks, why, the very stones would cry out! 

"Fellow-citizens, let us for a moment inquire who, and where, and 
what we are? 

"117/0 are we? Are we not free-born? Wert not our mothers as well as 
our fathers, of Anglo Saxon blood? Was not the right to govern our- 
selves, to choose our own rulers, make our own laws guaranteed to us by 
the united voice of the United States? 

"ir/iere are we? Are we not in the most beautiful country that 
human eye ever beheld? Is it not, for surface, soil and productions 
worthy to be styled the garden of the world? A wilderness, yet already 
budding and blossoming like the rose! A new country, yet having the 
appearance in its diversity of meadow and woodland, hill and dale of a 
land long inhabited, and most beautifully and tastefully laid out into 
parks and groves! With a mild and salubrious climate, a dry, pure 
atmcjsphere must it not soon become the resort of. the invalid from the 
consumptive east and the ends of the earth? 

"Our situation, geographically, is in the centre of the Republic, at the 
half way station between the Atlantic and Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico 
and the British Possessions. The Father of Waters extends to us his 
great right arm and proffers the commerce of the world, and a market for 
all our productions; and the line of steam and telegraphic communication 
that is soon to encircle the globe will, of course, pass directly through the 
Territory, thus bringing to our very doors the commerce of China and 
the Indies. 

" IVhat are we? Subjects, slaves of Missouri! We come to the cele- 
bration of this anniversary with our chains clanking about our limbs; we 
lift to Heaven our manacled arms in supplication; proscribed, outlawed, 
denounced. We cannot so much as speak the name of Liberty except 
with prison walls and halters looking us in the face. We must not only 
see black slavery, the blight and curse of any people, planted in our 
midst, and against our wishes, but we must become slaves. Hear our 
masters: 

" 'Our Legislature should make the publishing or writing of abolitionism 
an offense of a high grade, both indictable and actionable, if law is sus- 
tained.' — Sqitatter Soi-ercig^n . 

" 'Only one Free-soiler will get a .seat in the Legislature Assembly, and 
he will be expelled unless he minds his manners very much.' — S(fualter 
Soi'crei^n 

" It is to be admitted that they (the Missourians) have conquered Kan- 
sas. Our advice is, let them hold it, or die in the attempt. ' — Platte Argus. 

"At a meeting held at Leavenworth, our conquerors resolved as follows: 

Resoh'ed, "That no man has aright to go into any community and dis- 
G 



82 KANSAS. 

tiirb its peace and quiet by doing incendiary acts or circulating incendiary 
sentiments. We therefore advise such as are unwilling to submit to the 
institutions of this country, to leave for some climate more congenial to 
their feelings, as abolition sentiments cannot, nor will not be tolerated 
here, and while we do not say what may be the consequences, for the peace 
and quiet of the community, we urge all entertaining and expressing such 
sentiments to leave immediately, claiming the right to expel all such as 
persist in such a course. 

" 'Resolved, That in the state of public excitement, there is no such 
thing as controlling the ebullition of feeling, while material remains in 
the country on which to give it vent. To the peculiar friends of our 
Northern fanatics, we say, this is not your country. Go home and vent 
your treason where you may find sympathy. 

" 'Resolved, That the institution of slavery is known and recognized in 
this Territory, and that we repel the doctrines that it is a moral or polit- 
ical evil, and we hurl back with scorn upon its slanderous authors the 
charge of inhumanity; and we warn all persons not to come to our peace- 
ful firesides to slander us and sow seeds of discord between the master 
and the servant, for much as we may be driven, we cannot be responsible 
for the consequences. 

" 'Resolved, That a vigilance committee, consisting of thirty members, 
shall now be appointed, who shall observe and report all such persons as 
shall openly act in violation of law and order, and by the expression of 
abolition sentiments produce disturbance, to the quiet of the citizens, or 
danger to their domestic relations; and all such persons so offending shall 
be notified and made to leave the Territory." 

" 'Abolition editors in slave states will not dare to avow their opinions. 
It would be instant death to them.' — Missouri Afg us. 

" 'The Charleston Courier, (nth of August, 1S35,) declared that the 
^allozcs and the stake awaited the abolitionist who should dare to 
appear among us.' 

" 'The cry of the whole South shall be death — instant death— to the 
abolitionist whenever he is caught.' — Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle. 

" 'Let us declare through the public journals of our country, that the 
question of slavery is not and shall not be open to discussion; that the 
system is too deep-rooted among us, and must remain forever; that the 
very moment any private individual attempts to lecture us upon its evils 
and morality, and the necessity of putting means in operation to secure 
us from them, in the same moment his tongue shall be cut out and cast 
upon the dung hill.' — Columbia (S. C.) Telescope. 

" 'The true-hearted citizens of Kast Tennessee and property holders 
ought to enter into league, and whip, black and ride on a rail, irrespec- 
tive of age, calling, family association, every preacher, citizen or traveler 
who dares to utter one word in opposition to slavery, or who is found in 



ILI.S OK PIONEER I.II'E. 83 

possession of an abolition document. These are our sentiments, and we 
are ready and willing to help carry them out.' — Parson Nrozc/i/cf. 

"And who or what is an abolitionist? Why, everybody is an abolition- 
ist, according to their dictionary, who dares to have an opinion of his own 
upon the subject of the rights of man in any respect differing from theirs. 
No distinction is made between the man who is opposed to the establish- 
ment of slavery in Kansas and him who is opposed to its existence in the 
states, between the man who would return him who had escaped to his 
master, and him who would direct the fugitive to the land of liberty. 
Said one of the chivalry, whose name is suggestive of hemp factories, 
'Had I the power, I would hang every abolitionist -in the country, and 
every man north of Alason and Dixon's line is an abolitionist.' This was 
said with the emphasis and accompaniments peculiar to the individual. 
These gentlemen and Christians repel the doctrine that it (slavery) is a 
moral or political evil, and 'hurl back with scorn the charge of inhumanity, ' 
and warn all persons of different views not to come to Kansas, for they 
shall be 'made to leave the Territory,' if they do. 'Made to leave!' 
Indeed. Well, a 'right smart good time of it,' may our neighbors have in 
making all leave Kansas who will not bow down and worship the calves 
they set up. 

"Made to leavel Gentlemen, look at that beautiful banner, think 
from where it came, and the motives which prompted its presentation, 
and then think about being made to leave your country for no crime! 
One thing appears evident: if we are made to leave, the ladies will be 
ashamed to follow, and will let us go alone. 

"Persons may teach that the Declaration of Independence is a lie; that 
tyranny and oppression is a thousand fold more severe than that which our 
ancestors rose in rebellion against are right; that marriage is a mockery; 
that the parent shall not have possession of his own child; nor the hus- 
band his wife; that education is a crime; that traffic in human beings, the 
bodies and souls of men, is a virtue. All this may be taught with impunity 
in this boasted land of ours, and those who teach such things must be 
recognized as gentlemen and Christians; but to teach that all men are 
created equal; that they have an inalienable right to life and liberty ; that 
oppression is a crime, and that education, religion and good morals are 
virtues — this is not to be tolerated for a moment. Tar and feathers, the 
gallows and stake, await all persons who dare express a belief in such 
dangerous doctrines, if we can believe our masters — masters, did I say? 
Heaven forbid! Subject? Slave? Oh, no! It is all a mistake. What! 
the whiskey-drinking, profane, blasphemous, degraded, foul-mouthed and 
contemptible rabble that invaded the Territory at the late elections our 
masters? Ne%'er! Never! I can say to Death be thou my master; and 
to the grave, be thou ray prison-house; but acknowledge such crea- 



8a KANSAS. 

tures mv masters, never! No, thank God, we are yet free, and hurl defi- 
ance at those who would make us slaves. 

•' 'Look on who will in apathy, unJ stille they who oan. 
The sympathies, tlie liopes. the words, ihat make man truly man. 
Let those whose hearts are dungeoned up with interest or with ease. 
Consent to hear with quiet pulse of loathsome deeds like these. 
We first drew in Xew England's air, and from her hardy breast. 
Sucked in the tyrant-hating milk, that will not let us rest. 
And if our words seem treason to the dullard and the tame, 
'Tls but our native dialect,— our fathers spoke tliesame.' 

"With truth and justice on our side we have nothing to fear, for — 

•"Thrice is he armed who has his quairt-l just, 
And he but naked, though locked up in steel, 
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted.' 

Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted, if not he who withholds 
from the laborer his due; who makes merchandise of men, women and 
children; who sunders family ties, sending the husband perhaps, to the 
corn-fields of Mississippi, the wife to a New Orleans brothel, and the chil- 
dren to the rice swamps of Alabama, never to see each other again, and 
all to spend their lives amid whips and chains? Is it not 'confor- 
mation strong as holy writ,' that their conscience is corrupted, when such 
men 'repel the doctrine' that such proceedings are wrong, either morally 
or politically? When they 'hurl back with scorn' that conduct like this 
can be inhuman? Perhaps its not inhuman, if they are fair samples of 
humanity, but its certainly unheartlike. 

' 'And who are the cowards in this contest if not those who suun investi- 
gation tremble at free discussion, or even the expressing of an opinion; 
who cry out, 'Down with the press, down with the church, down with 
every man who disapproves of oppression?' And what acts are cowardly, 
if it is brave and manly for scores of men maddened with whiskey, to 
prowl about in the dark and destroy the defenseless, to sieze peaceable 
and unarmed citizens, to tar and feather them, to throw printing presses 
into the river, and threaten to shoot governors and hang editors, and 
especially to march upon a weak and defenseless people by thousands, 
armed with deadly weapons of all kinds (the most deadly of which is 
whiskey) and trample under their feet the dearest rights of freemen, 
imposing upon a neighboring Territory a foreign government and laws not 
of their choice, at the point of the bayonet. If such acts are brave and 
heroic, what are cowardly and villainous? 

"What reason is given for the cowardly invasion of our rights by our 
neighbors? No good reason is or can be given. They and their apolo- 
gists say, that if Kansas is allowed to be free, the instituti.n of slavery 
in their own state will be in danger; that the contrast between a free and a 
slave state, will be so great that their own citizens will become abolition- 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFK. 85 

ists, or the under-ground railroad willrelieve them of their slaves. But 
from the first cause there is no danger of alarm, if their doctrine is cor- 
rect, that slavery is a blessing, and not a moral or political evil. If it is 
the humane institution they represent, who will want to see it abolished? 
As to the second cause, there is no ground to fear, provided the people of 
Missouri mind their own affairs and let us alone, for it is not true that the 
settlers of Kansas have enticed a single Negro, or attempted to do so. 
On this point we speak by authority, for do not the Westport and other 
Missouri papers say that the general agency of this line of travel is under 
our charge, and did these papers ever tell an untruth? We say, then, 
officially, that up to the present time, not the first rail has been laid of 
this road in Kansas; but the workmen are in readiness, and will commence 
operation with a will, if our affairs are again interferred with by foreign 
intruders. If the people of Missouri make it necessary, by their unlawful 
course for us to establish freedom in that state in order to enjoy the liberty 
of governing ourselves in Kansas, then let that be the issue If Kansas 
and the whole North must be enslaved, or Missouri become free, then let 
her be made free. Aye, and if to be free ourselves, slavery must be 
abolished in the whole country, then let us accept that issue. If black 
slavery in a part of the states is incompatible with white freedom in any 
state, then let black slavery be banished from all. As men espousing the 
principles of the Declaration of the fathers, we can do nothing less than 
accept these issues. Not that we are unfriendly to the South — far from 
it. If there be any true friend of the South in this assembly, to him we 
say, that our love of the South is no less than his. If, then, such friend 
demanded why we are ready to accept this issue, this is our answer, 
not that we love the South less, but we love our country more: 'Had 
you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that C:csar were 
dead, to live all freemen?' Who is here so base that would be a bond- 
man? If any speak for him have I offended.' 

"Fellow-citizens, in conclusion, it is for us to choose for ourselves, and 
for those who shall come after us what institutions shall bless or curse our 
beautiful Kansas. Shall we have freedom for all our people, and conse- 
quent prosperty, or slavery for a part, with the blight and mildew insep- 
erable from it? 

"Choose ye this day which you a ill serve, slavery or freedom, and then 
be true to your choice. If slavery is best for Kansas, then choose it; but 
if liberty, then choose that. 

"Let every man stand in his own place, and acquit himself like a man 
who knows his rights, and knowing dare maintain them. Let us repu- 
diate all laws enacted by foreign legislative bodies or dictated by Judge 
Lynch over the way. Tyrants are tyrants, and tyranny is tyranny, 
whether under the garb of law or in opposition to it. So thought and so 
acted our ancestors, and so let us think and act. We are not alone in this 



86 KANSAS. 

contest. The entire nation is agitated upon the question of our rights. 
The spirit of '76 is breathing upon some; the handwriting upon the wall 
is being discerned by others, while the remainder the gods are evidently 
preparing for destruction. 

"Every pulsation in Kansas vibrates to the remotest artery of the body 
politic, and 1 seem to hear the millions of freemen and the millions of 
bondmen in our own land, the patriots and philanthropists of all countries; 
the spirit of the Revolutionary fathers, and the voice of God. all saying 
to the people of Kansas, 'Do your duty.' " 

The}^ were glad to see us coining, not with tlie hatcliet 
and sounds of war, but bringing with us the sweet fruits of 
peace and civilization. A long day was quickly passed — 
the first Fourth of July in Kansas celebrated l)y its white 
settlers. In the evening a part}' of about one hundred was 
gathered, to strengthen yet more the bonds of social feeling, 
in our largest hall, which serves the purpose of church, 
school-room, and hall for all political and social meetings. 
We had refreshments of cakes and ice-creams, and our 
house/////, as usual, at night. 

J///. — A little child is dead. The family took the small- 
pox while on the Missouri river, some two months since, 
and this child has never recovered from the effects of the 
disease. We carried a friend to her home on the prairie, 
and called for the minister to attend the funeral, leaving 
doctor,asleep and alone. We heard at evening that Dr. 
Wood (who had previously attempted to cut down our house, 
and was afterwards appointed Probate Judge by the Shaw- 
nee Legislature — who was continually with the enem)- at 
the time of the fall invasion, and in the crowd which 
attacked and killed Barber, and, since removing to Lecomp- 
ton, procured the indictments for treason) was ver}' angry 
about the oration on the Fourth; also young Andrews, a 
South Carolinian, and litjuor-seller. The}' both threatened 
that they would take the doctor'« life; but a person in this 
coimtry soon gets accustomed to such assertions. They 
mean nothing when uttered b}' these men, and only prove 
their utter cowardice. They reported that the doctor was 



ILLS <)F PIONEER LIFE. 87 

afraid to go tiown town, while in the simplicit}' of his heart 
he had been taking a most quiet nap upon the lounge, with 
windows and doors open, and alone in the house, not awak- 
ing from the time I left for a two miles' drive, until my 
return. 

jth. — With a carriage-load of ladies I drove up to Dr. 
Barker's^ four miles away. The last part of the way was 
rough and hilly, reminding one more of Massachusetts hills 
than anything I Had seen since coming to Kansas. For a 
mile we made a gradual ascent up hills, which look so wond- 
rously New England like, that we forgot we were strangers 
there. From the house we took a tramp of half a mile down 
to the lake, and were well repaid for all our labor and 
fatigue of descending and climbing hills, by the beautiful 
views continually meeting our eyes at every turn in the 
winding path. There were high, conical-shaped hills, bear- 
ing on their tops forest trees, with dense, thick foliage; at 
the next moment a little shady nook, with silvery rivulet 
murmeringover its pebbly bed, would peep upon one's sight. 
A high ledge, with a cool spring gushing from its side, and 
tiowers overhanging it, came next. 

Our guide took longer steps than we, and seemed more 
used to traveling in the woods, for I had scarcely time tn see 
all 1 wanted to, get over places dry-shod, and climb up the 
steep hills, before he was far out of sight. However, if I 
kept the last straggling one of our party in view, I felt safe. 
When we all finally came together again, as they at last 
waited for me, our guide was coming from the lake with his 
hands full of most beautiful tiowers. They were larger than 
a white pond-lily, and much more beautiful, with the same 
sweetness. The Indians call the flora "Yonkopen," and 
they live, at some seasons, upon the seeds of the plant, of 
which there were some eight or ten, of a nut-like appear- 
ance, in each seed-vessel. The Kaw Indian woman often 
wade into the water for them as food. Dr. Barker informed 
us there were enough in this little lake for the subsistence 
of six or seven families for weeks. 



00 KANSAS. 

Last night some of the gentlemen whose love for slavery 
was outraged b}' the out-spoken words for freedom, uttered 
on the Fourth, with guns and pistols, and man}- muttered 
threats of revenge, started from town to give us a call. 
Their discretion was probably greater than their valor, and it 
might be that the effort of climbing this hill would at least 
give time for the cooling of their rage. 

8tji. — Sunday, we had company, but they all attended 
church. How I wish we could have one old-fashioned, 
New England Sunday, with the ringing of church bells to 
call us to service, and quiet at home! We are full of 
company at all times, not excepting even Sabbath day. 
We now have meetings every Sabbath at five o'clock, at the 
house, or, as the notice was given, "under the shadow of 
Dr. Robinson's house." The ladies sit in the front room, 
the gentlemen outside on benches and in carriages, while 
the preacher stands in the doorway. 

"Old Gray" was an attentive listener to-night. Just after 
the beginning of the service he came around the north side 
of the house, and took his station close by the preacher, 
where he remained until the last prayer was said, when he 
as quietly walked awa}'. 

lOtli.— Yesterday, the doctor, Mr. G. P. Lowrey, and 
George Earl, went down to Kansas City, stopping at Shaw- 
nee Mission and Westport. A gentleman at the former 
place, a pro-slavery resident of Lawrence, said to George, 
"Is the doctor going to Wescport?" 

Upon his replying in the affirmative, the gentleman said, 
"They are going to hang him there." 

With characteristic >tai7'ctc George replied, "Is tliat all?" 
and his informant, turning on his heel, walked away. 

The doctor, after looking in upon /the grave legislators 
who hold their sessions at the Shawnee Mission School, but 
who ride over and back in omnibuses from their homts in 
Westport, to his satisfaction, pursued his way to Kansas 
City. There, friends informed him that Dr. Wood had 
been there attempting to arouse the bitterness' of the pro- 



ILLS OK PIONEER LIKE. 8g 

slavery men against him; that they might offer him some 
violence. Having completed his business at that place, he 
came again by Westport on the following da3% stopping, as 
before, at the mission. He saw Dr. Wood there, who was 
complaining that the stage for Lawrence had gone, and 
he had no mode of conveyance home. The doctor said to 
him, "Here is a seat in my carriage, if you like;" at the 
same time jocosely adding, "but we may get to fighting." 

To which the dignified Dr. Wood offered no reply, though 
his hand seemed to have a strange affinit}' to something in 
his coat pocket. The doctor came on to Lawrence without 
fear of molestation, and wholly alone 

igtii. — We rode/into the country some miles, to dine. We 
had vegetable, peas, etc., with pumpkin pies for the second 
course. They were veritable pumpkins, — such as make a 
New Englander think of home and Thanksgiving holi- 
days, — ripened this year. On our way home we called at 
another friend's, and, to shorten distances, went across the 
prairie where there was no road. We found several deep 
ravines, difficult to cross, but with no actual danger save at 
one point. There was a deep ravine, with natural path, 
or bridge, over it, which was exceedingly narrow, while the 
chasm below looked frightful, and the bank before us very 
steep. The doctor thought he could drive safely over. I 
calculated the chances of broken limbs, should we go off 
the ledge, and the frightened horse, with an extra pull and 
a creaking of the carriage, took us again on to safer ground. 
A short time after, as we were passing along quite gayly 
upon a sTde hill, thinking the perils of the way were over, 
the carriage suddenly slipped down against the lower wheels; 
but we arrived home safely and in good time. 

20t}i. — We heard of the illness of some acquaintances — 
Merrills — over at Wakarusa, and I accompanied the doctor 
to see them. We had a pleasant drive over, though the 
crossing at the Wakarusa is steep. The little dry ravines 
beyong are more trying to springs. Our friends live upon 
the top of "Lone Tree Mound," a high elevation, the "lone 



go KANSAS. 

tree" and house for many miles being distinct!}' visible. It 
is a difficult matter to reach the summit of the hill, and was 
accomplished b}' winding around a circuitous way upon the 
side hill, with the carriage, while the doctor climbed up on 
foot. We at length reached the house, and found our friends 
glad to see us. So far as the}' are from neighbors, and so 
difficult of access when sickness has been upon them, one 
or both, the times have indeed looked dark, and life's road 
dreary. They sent for the doctor several days since, but 
the word had but just reached him. 

Hoping to find a better road home, we turned into another, 
but found it infinitely worse. In the bottom of one ravine 
"Old Gray" made a false step, and fell, breaking both shafts. 
Yankee ingenuity was brought into requisition, and after 
tying on poles with anything in the shape of strings which 
could be produced, for the emergency of the hour, and a 
good deal of merriment, we were en route again. Before 
the cutting of the poles, there was a most amusing silence. 
The horse, having been led up to the top of the hill, was 
looking meekly for further orders. The doctor was standing 
near by, with his hands upon his sides, and looking the very 
image of patience, and poor little me, feeling like laughing, 
and yet feeling sober in view of remaining all night with the 
prairie wolves, in such a place as this, sat demurely in the 
carriage. Finally, I said, "Shall I get out of the carriage?" 
And the image of patience came forward^ saying "Yes," and 
assisted me out. I knew then that in some corner of his 
brain there was a plan for new shafts, and a sure prospect 
for our return to Lawrence. Within two miles of Lawrence 
we called at the place whtre we get our weekly supply of 
butter, which is of the best qualit}-. While the lady of the 
little log cabin was weighing it out, her husband, Mr. 
Bassett, came to the carriage, and, after talking a moment, 
went in again to play us some tunes. His fondness for 
music aiuounts to a passion, and while living in Ohio he 
often taught music. He has a large dairy here. 

.\bout a mile further on our wav home, two <j;entlemen 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. gi 

on horseback, coming from the direction of Lawreuce, rode 
hastily up, and with a good deal of excftement in dieir man- 
ner, informed us that a large body of Missounans were 
encamped near Hickory Point; that they threatened to drive 
off the free-state settlers; and, lastly, that a fight was 
expected. They desired the doctor to use his influence 
with the people of Lawrence, to have a force sent out 
immediatel}' to aid their neighbors at Hickory Point. He 
said to them he "thought it was a ruse," and promised to 
do nothing until more reliable information should come. 
One of the gentlemen, who has always been famous here 
for his words of bravado, and want of bravery in action, said, 
on parting, ''1 will send an express every hour." 

22)id. — The military companies are on drill to-day. A 
friend sent us a basket of mandrakes. They have a pleas- 
ant flavor, but are quite medicinal. The gentleman's 
"express" is not yet heard from. 

A gentleman, Martin Gaylord, living nine miles distant, 
sent to the doctor this morning to come and see him. He 
found him quite ill with fever, in a little cabin, alone, with 
no one to take care of him. So, placing the bed in the 
carriage, he brought him home with him. 

2jrd. — The patient was not injured by his ride, but his 
nervousness exceeded all bounds. We had a quantity of 
delicious apples. Apples were first brought into market on 
the fourth of this month. A large pailful of grapes was also 
sent in. These are smaller, and not as sweet as those which 
ripen in October. We had rain with furious wind before- 
hand. Such clouds of dust arose as to hide the town from 
our sight. Several panes of glass blew out, and, in attempt- 
ing to put boards at the window, to keep out the pouring 
rain, we were thoroughly drenched. The little calf in the 
pen seems frightened too, breaks his rope, leaps the fence, 
and scuds before the wind like a frightenetl hare. We 
have a general hubbub. Mr. Edward Clark, a lawyer here, 
was assaulted by Dr. Wood, this afternoon. Dr. Wood 
invited Mr. Clark to his house, saying he wanted to talk 



92 KANSAS. 

with him. On reaching the house, however, he declined to 
go into it, and took Mr. Clark around on the east side of 
it, and there they sat down. Dr. Wood then asked him if 
he thought so and so in regard to the settlement of the city 
property, making his own action in the affair fair and honor- 
able. Mr. Clark said he thought not; whereupon Dr. Wood 
struck Mr. Clark, with a piece of iron, or a slung shot, upon 
his head, cutting a deep gash in it. He then ran. Mr. 
Clark soon came into the street, and, as the brave doctor 
was picking up a stone to throw at the wounded man. 
several of the citizens gathered around and put an end to it. 
24tli. — We were scarcely up this morning before word 
came that Mrs. Litchfield was dead or dying. She was 
taken ill last evening. Two of the children are also dead. 
It is thought their deaths were occasioned by eating very 
freel)^ of mandrakes yesterday — a disease like cholera being 
the result. Remembering her as I saw her in the little, 
pent-up cabin, I can but think the change a glorious one, 
for now there must be room, room for the freed spirit, 
earth's fetters broken. There are now two motherless little 
girls. The mother and youngest two are buried in one 
grave. 

"Thnu hast all seasons for thine own, O Death!" 

28tli. — .\s a relaxation, being wearied with constant com- 
pany and continued care of so large a family, with want of 
([uiet, the doctor proposed a ride to Fish's. With a full 
carriage load, we made the proposed visit. Fish's is a sort 
of stopping-place by the way, nine miles from Lawrence, 
and between thirty and forty miles from Kansas City. 
Entertainment for man and beast is found here. The build- 
ing is of wood, two stories in height. Upon the lower floor 
are a dining-room, which is also used for general reception- 
room, and a store of groceries, dry goods, and the et cetera, 
needful to supply the Indians in this region, while the upper 
rooms serve for sleeping apartments, • The worn traveler, 
after a ride of thirty-five miles, in the broiling sun, or in 



ILLS OF PIONEER LIFE. 93 

the piercing winds, is glad of a rest, even in a building so 
unhomelike as this, y 

Mr. Paschal Fish, who owns the establishment, is a 
Shawnee Indian, of education and principle. He is a firm 
believer in the assertion of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, that "all men are born free and equal," and gladly 
extends the right hand of fellowship to those who come 
desiring to plant the seeds of trifth and freedom in this new 
country. He would, with us, joyfully welcome the hour, 
when, grown into a mighty tree, its spreading branches 
should cover the whole land. George Nichols, connected 
with Fish is from Boston. A Mr. Fish, who superintends 
the culinary department, is from Massachusetts, and our 
appetites attest to his skill in that line. Some Indian 
women, who came to the store to trade, sit at the table with 
us. We talk of their dress and ornaments, not suppos- 
ing they can understand us, while they gravely listt n. 
When we have ceased commenting they repeat to Mr. Fish, 
in Shawnee what we have said, as he tells us; they seem 
much amused and laugh heartily. They have the advan- 
tage of us, being able to speak English as well as Delaware 
and Shawnee. 

July 31st. — We have had rain as often as every alternate 
da}^ for the last week, in gentle showers mostly, and often 
at night, the days being clear and pleasant. A part of our 
guests left a few days since, and on the ne.xt day, on a short 
half hour's notice, we had six gentlemen and a lad}' to dine. 
We have now very nice melons. The melons, cantelopes, 
tomatoes, etc., are finer than any I have ever seen elsewhere. 
Four more strangers were in, in the afternoon, and we were 
not able to finish our day's work until sundown. To-day 
the doctor and I took a short ride on horseback, to get away 
from care. We found other company on our return, just 
returned from the regions of Fort Riley. The cholera is 
making terrible havoc there, among the men principally 
engaged on the government works. They are said to have 
exposed themselves most wilfully, by drinking of poor water, 



94 KANSAS. 

when at a little distance the best was to be had. Major 
Ogden, a most estimable man, has fallen a victim to 
the dread disease, also some families of the officers. This 
afternoon I have been off npon the prairie alone. Was two 
miles from home at sun-down, and before I reached it, 
could not see the path for the darkness, but trusted to "Old 
Gray." The sick man is so far recovered as to leave. 



CHAPTER VII. 

KANSAS LAWS — GOVERNOR SHANNON. 

A//x'//s/ [QtJi. — "All day the low hung clouds have dropped 
their garnered fullness down." 

People begin to come in from the countr}', miles distant, 
to the Convention, which is to be held on the 14th and 15th. 

On the 2nd of July, the Legislature, elected b}' Missouri- 
ans, assembled, as ordered by Governor Reeder, at Paw- 
nee, more than one hundred miles from the border. Mr. 
Conway, of the sixth district, resigned his seat in the coun- 
cil, on the ground that, having been elected by illegal votes, 
this pretended Legislature had no claim to that character. 
The members of the House chosen at the new election, 
ordered by Governor Reeder, were deprived of their seats. 

On the 4th, the Legislature passed an act, removing the 
seat of government to the Shawnee Mission, two or three 
miles from Westport. Governor Reeder vetoed it, as incon- 
sistent with the organic act. 

On the i6th, the Legislature reassembled at that place, 
and on the 22d, D. Houston, the only free state member of 
the Assembly, resigned his seat, not only on the ground 
that the Legi.'^lature was an illegal body, but that, by its 
removal from Pavvnee, it had nullified itself. 

The laws passed by the Shawnee Legislature are of an 
intolerant, Draconian character, allowing to the people of 
this territory no rights. They are copied from the Mis- 
souri statute book, with the exception of those relating to 
the qualifications of voters of the Legislative Assembly, and 



96 



KANSAS. 



the slave code, which are made especially to crush the peo- 
ple of this territory. They allow them no voice in those 
matters of government which most concern them. 

The following is taken verbatim from the "Laws of the 
Territory of Kansas," furnished to Congress, on its requi- 
sition, by President Pierce, and printed as "Exec. Doc. 

"CHAPTER CLI. SLAVES. 

"An Act to Punish Offenses Against Slave Property. 



Persons raising insurrection punishable with death. 

Aider punishable with death. 

What constitutes felony. 

Punishment for decoying away slaves. 

Punishment for assisting slaves. 

What deemed grand larceny. 

What deemed felony. 

Punishment for concealing slaves. 

Punishment for rescuing slaves from officer. 

Penalty on officer who refuses to assist in capturing slaves. 

Printing of incendiary documents.' 

What deemed a felony. 

Who are qualified as jurors. 



'■'Be it Enacted by the Governor and Legislative ^sse?nbly 
of tJie Territory of Kansas, as follows: 

"Section i. That every person, bond or free, who shall 
be convicted of actually raising a rebellion or insurrection 
of slaves, free Negroes or mulattoes, in this territory, shall 
suffer deatli. 

"Sec. 2. Every free person who shall aid or assist in 
any rebellion or insurrection of slaves, free Negroes or 
mulattoes, or shall furnish arms, or do any overt act in 
furtherance of such rebellion or insurrection, shall suffer 
death. 

"Sec. 3. If any free person shall, by speaking, writing 
or printing, advise, persuade or induce, any slaves to rebel, 
conspire against or murder any citizen of this territory, or 
shall bring into, print, write, publish, or circidate, or cause 



KANSAS LAWS GOVERNOR SHANNON. 97 

to be brought into, printed, written, published or circulated, 
or shall knowingly aid or assist in the bringing into, print- 
ing, writing, publishing or circulating, in this territory, any 
book, paper, magazine, pamphlet or circular, for the pur- 
pose of exciting insurrection, rebellion, revolt or conspiracy 
on the part of the slaves, free Negroes or mulattoes, against 
the citizens of the territory or any part of them, such per- 
son shall be guilty of felony, and suffer death. 

"Sec. 4. If any person shall entice, decoy or carry away 
out of this territory any slave belonging to another, with 
intent to deprive the owner thereof, of the services of such 
slave, or with intent to effect or procure the freedom of such 
slave, he shall be adjudged guilty of grand larceny, and, on 
conviction thereof, shall suffer death, or be imprisoned at 
hard labor for not less than ten years. 

"Sec. 5. If any person shall aid or assist in enticing, 
decoying, or persuading, or carrying away, or sending out 
of this territory, any slave belonging to another, with intent 
to procure or effect the freedom of such slave, or with intent 
to deprive the owner thereof of the services of such slave, 
he shall be adjudged guilty of grand larceny, and, on con- 
viction thereof, shall suffer death, or be imprisoned at hard 
labor for not less than ten years. 

"Sec. 6. If any person shall entice, decoy or carry away 
out of any state or other territory of the United States, any 
slave belonging to another, with intent to procure or effect 
the freedom of such slave, or to deprive the owner thereof 
of the services of such slave, and shall bring such slave into 
this territory, he shall be adjudged guilty of grand larceny 
in the same manner as if such slave had been enticed, 
decoyed or carried away out of this territory, and in such 
case the larceny may be charged to have been committed 
in any county of this territory, into or through which such 
slave shall have been brought by such person, and, on con- 
viction thereof, the person offending shall suffer death, or 
be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than ten years. 

"Sec. 7. If any person shall entice, persuade or induce 



98 KANSAS. 

any slave to escape from the service of his master or owner 
in this territory, or sliall aid or assist any slave in escaping 
from the service of his master or owner, or shall aid, assist, 
harbor or conceal, any slave who may have escaped from 
the service of his master or owner, he shall be deemed 
guilty of felony, and punished b}' imprisonment at hard 
labor for a term of not less than five years. 

"Sec. 8. If an}' person in this territory shall aid or assist, 
harbor or conceal, an}- slave who has escaped from the ser- 
vice of his master or owner, in another state or territorv, 
such person shall be punished in like manner as if such 
slave had escaped from the service of his master or owner 
in this territor}'. 

"Sec. 9. If any person shall resist any officer while 
attempting to arrest any slave that ma}' have escaped from 
the service of his master or owner, or shall rescue such 
slave when in custody of any officer or other person, or 
shall entice, persuade, aid or assist, such slave to escape 
from the custody of any officer or other person who may 
have such slave in custody, whether such slave have escaped 
from the service of his master or owner in this territory, or 
in any other state or territory, the person so offending shall 
be guilty of felony, and punished by imprisonment at hard 
labor for a term of not less than two years. 

"Sec. 10. If any marshal, sheriff or constable, or the 
deputy of any such officer, shall, when required by any 
person, refuse to aid or assist in the capture of any slave 
that may have escaped from the service of his master or 
owner, whether such slave shall have escaped from his 
master or owner in this territory, or any state or other 
territory, such officer shall be fined in a sum of not less 
than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars. 

"Sec. II. If any person print, waite, introduce into, 
publish or circulate, or cause to be brought into, printed, 
written, published or circulated, or shall knowingly aid or 
assist in bringing into, printing, publishing or circulating 
within this territory, any book, paper, pamphlet, magazine, 



KANSAS LAWS GOVERNOR SHANNON. 99 

handbill or circular, containing any statements, arguments, 
opinions, sentiment, doctrine, advice or inuendo, calcu- 
lated to produce a disorderly, dangerous or rebelious dis- 
affection among the slaves in this territor}', or to induce 
such slaves to escape from the service of their masters, or 
to resist their authority, he shall be guilty of felony, and 
be punished by imprisonment and hard labor for a term 
not less than five years. 

"Sec. 12. If any free person, by speaking or by writing, 
assert or maintain that persons have not the right to hold 
slaves in this territor}', or shall introduce into this territor}^ 
print, publish, write, circulate, or cause to be introduced 
into this territory, written, printed, published or circulated 
in this territory, any book, paper, magazine, pamphlet or 
circular, containing any denial of the right of persons 
to hold slaves in this territory, such person shall be deemed 
guilt}' of felon}', and punished by imprisonment at hard 
labor for a term of not less than two years. 

"Sec. 13. No person who is conscientiously opposed to 
holding slaves, or who does not admit the right to hold 
slaves in this territory, shall sit as a juror on the trial of 
any prosecution for any violation of any of the sections of 
this act. 

"This act to take effect and be in force from and after 
the fifteenth day of September, A. D. 1S55." 

Several meetings have been held, taking this matter into 
consideration, and much talk had in reference to holding 
a general convention, with the view of forming a state 
government, and asking for admission as a state at the next 
Congress. 

I2t]i. — It rained pouringly all last night, and without 
ceasing today. Mr. Deane's house, down on the street, 
was struck by the lightning last night, and one corner of 
the roof torn off by the fluid. Mrs. Deane was alone, save 
two little children. These were stunned by the shock so 
that they returned no answer to the mother's repeated call 



lOO KANSAS. 

upon them to speak. The wind came in so furiously 
through the open dwelling, that she was not able to keep 
a light long enough to assure herself whether the}^ still 
lived. Thus the weary night passed away; the storm raged 
without, and many conflicting fears and anxieties within. 

The officials at Washington, with President Pierce as 
their nominal head, have seen that in Gov. Reeder the 
whole people of the territor}' have an impartial friend — 
have seen, too, that he follows to the letter the law under 
which he acts as governor. They are no less determined 
now, than at the time of the repeal of the Missouri com- 
promise, to force slavery upon this fair land, and have, 
therefore, resolved to remove him upon a false charge of 
speculating in Kaw lands. He has repudiated the acts of 
the Legislature because of their holding their session in 
violation of the organic act. Now a creature will be sent 
here in the form of a man, but ignoring all manliness, and 
selling body and soul to do the infamous work of the slave 
power. No man of integrity and sterling honest}' can long 
hold this office, as he will displease both the people of 
Missouri and the federal head. 

i^tli. — It was beautifully clear this morning, but rain 
was soon falling. Dr. and Mrs. Webb, friends from Bos- 
ton, arrived in the evening, after a long ride from Kansas 
City, through the treacherous mud and drenching rain. 
People for the convention are still gathering from all parts 
of the territory. They feel themselves a Avronged and 
oppressed people. Thousands of men, from another state, 
armed with instruments of death, and maltreating our 
citizens, have thus elected men to make our laws. They 
are men, for the most part, so ignorant, that in any other 
country they would not be considered eligible to the most 
unimportant office. It is stated, upon good autho'rity, that 
some of them can neither read nor write. Such ignorance 
is not strange when we consider the fact of the scarcity of 
schools through the border counties of Missouri — one of 
the most populous boasting only one within its entire 



KANSAS LAWS GOVERNOR SHANNON. lOI 

limits. Such destitution is one of slavery's trophies. 
While the RicJunond Enquirer comes out in wordy tirades 
upon common schools, why should Western Missouri do 
more than feed the brutal passions, leaving the mind un- 
cultivated and rough as the shores of her great river? 

These men have enacted laws worthy alone of the dark 
ages. Those of Draco were humane in the comparison, 
and Nero's bloodthirstiness is transformed into the milk of 
human kindness before this new light of the nineteenth 
centur3^ We have looked to him who has sworn to pro- 
tect the whole people, the executive of the nation. We 
might sooner look to the granite hills of his own state with 
hope of sympathy; for, given over to the minions of slavery, 
to do their bidding, no thunders save those of a long out- 
raged indignant people will ever awaken him. 

14th. — Twelve strangers dined with us today. They 
came from one hundred miles back in the territory, and 
there, as here, they represent the feeling of the people 
strong against these unheard-of outrages and frauds. We 
are struggling for our own freedom against a tyranny more 
unjust than that which King George exercised over the 
colonies. Though a war, a conflict like that even of seven 
years' duration, be the result of it, the end, bringing in the 
glorious reign of freedom, will be a final triumph. 

These gentlemen speak of the good appearance of the 
crops. Corn near the river called the Big Blue is very 
high. Some of the stalks measure eighteen feet and some 
inches. 

iStli. — The "windows of heaven" seemed literally to be 
opened, for the rain still pours down in torrents; but it does 
not in the least dampen the ardor of our people; and they, 
considering the facts of their want of protection from the 
government, and being without any law-making power, 
resolve to act in view of such a state of things. A large 
and enthusiastic meeting was held in the evening to take 
the matter into consideration of forming a government of 
their own. 



I02 KANSAS. 

i8th. — The quiet citizens of Lawrence are continually 
annoyed by the street broils in our midst. Four brothers 
by the name of Hopper, living a few miles out, by insult 
and indignity have endeavored to get our people to that 
spot where forbearance would cease to be a virtue; where, 
acting upon the first law of nature, they would give blow 
for blow. A man, ignorant to the last degree, whose 
identity is recognized by all our people under the cogno- 
men of "Sam Salters," and who holds an office of deputy- 
sheriff under the Shawnee Legislature, has also acted with 
them. Scarcely a day has passed for weeks that the long- 
sufferance of the people of Lawrence has not been wan- 
tonly trifled with. The apparent object has been to get 
some one to retaliate, and then word would be given to the 
border counties of Missouri. On the wings of the wind 
expresses would be sent. By falsehoods and inflammatory 
rumors, they would so inflame the passions of the people, 
until, like an avalanche, they would pour in upon us, and 
a plea be given for the war of extermination they are con- 
tinually threatening. The border papers are full of threats 
against the Yankees. An extract from the Lcavcmvorth 
Herald is a sample of all: "Dr. Robinson is sole agent 
for the underground railroad leading out of Western Mis- 
souri, and for the transportation of fugitive 'niggers.' His 
office is in Lawrence, K. T. Give him a call." 

igth. — Two large carriage loads went from our house to 
attend a camp-meeting on the Wakarusa. It was holden 
in the woods on the bank of the river, and while seats 
were provided for the audience in front of the high broad 
platform used b}' the speakers, the tents for the night were 
at a little distance in the back-ground. The carriages, of 
every possible description, and of every grade of beauty, 
from a rockawa}' to a rough, springless cart with board 
seats, were fastened around the entrance to the grove, and 
gave to the whole a most novel appearance. There was a 
large gathering of people, and the services would be im- 
pressive were it not for the continued "Aniens," in shrill 



KANSAS LAWS GOVERNOR SHANNON. IO3 

as well as deep guttural tones, which the zealous worship- 
ers are sounding in one's ears from all quarters. 

A large proportion of the western emigrants to Kansas 
are Methodists, and many of them are very fine people. 
The presiding elder here is a mild, benevolent-looking 
man, to whom a stranger would at once feel attracted. 
He came from Georgia, formerly, and for years has been a 
resident of Missouri. No one more than he can have seen 
the evils of slavfery, and, by his firm adherence to the prin- 
ples of liberty, he attests his abhorence of it. There are 
several clergymen in the territory, who have been residents 
of Missouri over twenty years, whose souls are strong in 
their love of freedom. 

2 1st. — The little steam ferry-boat, Lizzie, was here today. 
How we wished some enterprising capitalist would build 
some boats with a draft of only ten or twelve inches with- 
out load, such as are used upon the California waters! 
Every day we might hear the shrill steam-whistle, telling 
of active business life, and a means of communication 
between us and the rest of the world. Then the freights 
which have to be brought forty-five miles by land, on 
wagons, could more easily be transported into the territory, 
and passengers would find the journey much less tedious. 
Now, if a mill gives away, any part of the machinery 
breaking, nothing in all Missouri, this side of St. Louis, 
can be found for repairs; and all these heavy freights have 
to be brought by land from Kansas City. A boat briskly 
plying on the river would add much to the growth and 
prosperity of the territory. 

22d. — I have little leisure for reading and writing. This 
afternoon I took Mrs. Webb to ride, and she acknowledges 
she never saw so lovely a country, — thinks it would be 
pleasant to have a summer home here, with a winter home 
in Boston. Before we took our drive into the countr}', she 
received her first lesson in horseback riding, and caused us 
many a hearty laugh by her fearfulness, calling "Whoa!" 
"Whoa!" to the horse, when he was standing as still as 



I04 KANSAS. 

anything could, and after at last going a little distance, 
asking, in most plaintive tones, for some one to come and 
turn the horse around. 

24t]i. — ^The report of Mr. Dawson declining the appoint- 
ment of governor of Kansas is confirmed; also that Wilson 
Shannon, of Ohio, has been appointed in his place, and 
will accept the appointment. Coming, as Mr. Shannon 
does, from the free state of Ohio, where the principles of 
truth and freedom are engraven on the hearts of her people, 
deeply and indelibly, we ought to expect a man in whose 
heart are large sympathies, whose mind is enlightened. 
But from all the antecedents of his life, his course in Mex- 
ico, his daily life of dissoluteness and debauchery in Cali- 
fornia, which was a shame and a burning disgrace upon 
his countr3'men, we have nothing good to expect. Such a 
man will naturally be the tool of Missouri and the admin- 
istration. No other could accept the appointment as the 
second choice of the President since Governor Reeder's 
removal. We have only to endure with patience the ad- 
ministration of government under such men, still looking 
forward to the "good time coming." 

joiJi. — There is a Hungarian doctor here, who pretends 
he has in open field fought for Hungary b}' the side of 
Louis Kossuth. Yet, strange as the fact seems to us, he 
has openly espoused the side of the oppressor here, and 
for the Hoppers and Sam Salters become a champion. He 
rolls up his sleeves and daily walks the streets threatening 
peaceable citizens with annihilation. At the slightest 
disturbance or refusal of our people to be overawed by 
him, he runs for bowie-knife and revolver. Threats of 
"I'll cut your lieart outi' "I'll shoot youl" or "Drive the 
d — d Yankees from the territory!" are of every-day oc- 
currence. -J 

Sept. I St. — The new governor arrived at Westport, Mis- 
souri, and was received into full fellowship, and with demon- 
strations of joy. Before setting foot in the territory, or 
looking upon his real constituents, the bona fide settlers of 



KANSAS LAWS GOVERNOR SHANNON. IO5 

Kansas, full of whiskey and elation of office, he made 
to them a speech. He told them in it repeatedly of i]ieir 
Legislature, the laws tlicy had enacted, and assured them, 
with great fervor of manner, that he should call upon them 
to aid him in their enforcement. All this the people of 
Westport, Missouri, received with cheers and hurrahs; and, 
in loud bursts of enthusiasm, they expressed their joy that 
the tool was sure. Governor Shannon's son Wilson quietly 
asked of a bystander "if board could not be obtained in Law- 
rence," and hinted, in pretty plain terms, that he should 
prefer to live where there was less whiskey, and men of 
less ruffianly laok. When the boat reached the landing, 
at Kansas Cit}', a large number of the Missourians went 
on to meet the governor, and introduced themselves to 
him as "Border Ruffians." A carriage was soon sent over 
from Westport, to convey him thither. So, in the course 
of his rule in Kansas, we shall see what we shall see. 

4t}i. —Emigration again begins to pour into the territory. 
During the last two months there has been little in this 
part of the country. Cholera has raged on the river, and 
summer heats have been too great for any comfort in trav- 
eling; but now the prairies are again dotted with white- 
covered wagons of the western emigrant. They come 
bringing everything with them in their wagons, their fur- 
niture, provisions, and their families. Their stock, also, 
is driven with the teams. Their wagons to them are a trav- 
eling home; many of them having a stove set with pipe 
running through the top. They often travel far into the 
territor}-; it matters to them little how far, so that they get a 
location which pleases them. Then they build a cabin, and, 
with a fixed habitation, they wull become the strength and 
sinew of the country. Being used to the emergencies and 
the hardships of pioneer life, Kansas will depend upon 
them mostly, in this early settlement, for the ground work, 
the substratum, upon which to build up a glorious 
new state. While they, for the most part, settle in the 
country, and will gather into their garners of the golden 



I06 KANSAS. 

treasures of the rich and fertile soil, eastern capital will 
form a nucleus, around which the young, the adventurous, 
the enterprising, will gather, and new cities, new towns, 
will spring up with rapid growth, emulating in thrift and 
intelligence those of the old states. 

Another street broil occurred today. The Blue Lodge 
has decided to make an attack upon Lawrence before two 
months are past; so one of its members informs a gentle- 
man of our acquaintance. Whiskey-drinkers in this 
country are quite apt to divulge secrets. v 

6th. — Some gentlemen from Wisconsin, W. W. Ross 
and E. G. Ross, have just arrived with their families, and 
two men, whom they hired in Missouri; one of them is a 
Missourian, the other a free black. Scarcely had they 
arrived in Lawrence before Dr. Wood called upon them, 
and, after a good deal of needless bluster, demanded that 
the free papers should be shown him. This the negro did. 
As the design was to create disturbance, and the free 
papers put an end to this being done under any show of 
legality, his rage found vent in threats that the "negro 
should be thrown into the river unless he returned to Mis- 
souri." However, there is sufficient love of justice in 
Lawrence to prevent any violence being done to any of 
its quiet citizens, be the}' white or black. 

The weather is, indeed, most lovely. Shadows lie over 
the whole landscape, painting the prairie in green, from 
the lightest to the darkest shade. The music of the hay- 
cutters, with their large mowing machines, has for days 
chimed in with the noise of many hammers, the cheerful 
voice of the teamsters, and the glad carol of singing-birds. 

The appearance of the hay-makers is most novel, as they 
ride in among the tall grass, higher than their heads in 
many places, and bearing now a beautiful tasselled blossom 
of red, with yellow stamens, being seated upon their 
mowers as comfortably as when riding in a buggy. 

jth. — The gentlemen with whom the free negro came 
have hired a claim about two miles from town, and moved 



KANSAS LAWS— GOVERNOR SHANNON. IO7 

out. No attempts were made, last night, to carry out the 
threats of tlie pro-slavery men. Tonight, however, we 
heard of loads of people going out to the claim, and shots 
fired. The facts are, simply, the Hungarian doctor, wish- 
ing to exhibit his prowess, and prove his bravery, as our 
people have invariably suggested that so much rolling up 
of sleeves, and baring of the bosom, inviting an attack, 
was only the result of cowardice, selected this opportunity 
for a display of valor. Armed with gun and pistols, he 
took the route for the claim. Evans, the young Missou- 
rian, with whom the negro was "raised," and whom he 
says he will protect, at all hazard, came in town with a 
team. Two of our citizens, who knew the deadly intent 
with which Dr. Schareff left town, asked a ride with Evans 
as he returned home, and they soon overtook the belliger- 
ent pill-peddler, who was puffing along in hot haste, as 
though empires were wavering in the balance at each 
moment's delay. As the cart passed he asked for a ride, 
and sat in front, taking no notice of those behind. Pres- 
ently, Evans asked him "where he was going;" to which 
he replied, "he was going hunting," which seemed a little 
singular, at this time of night. However, no comments 
were made. After some little desultory talk, the valiant 
doctor said, "I believe there is a negro out this way, and 
I am going there." Evans quickly replied, "It is just 
where I am going." 

Doctor Shareff, supposing his errand must be like his 
own, commenced, at once, a vile tirade upon the negro, 
and avowed his intention to kill him. Evans heard him a 
W'hile; then, with decisive tones, ordered him to give him 
his pistols, which he did, unhesitatingly, and, trembling 
with fear, dropped his gun upon the bottom of the cart. 
Evans then commanded him to go on and state his real 
sentiments. His plaintiff "Excuse me," in broken English, 
gained him no reprieve. He was obliged, while the tears 
were coursing down his cheeks, to talk, or be silent, at the 
bidding of young Evans. At one time he commanded him 



I08 KANSAS. 

to say, "I eat my words." His sobbing "Excuse me" 
availed nothing, and upon the threat of "I'll shoot you," 
the same he had so often used to others, he repeated, "I'll 
eat my words." They soon arrived at the claim, and 
Evans, commanding him to be seated by the side of the 
innocent object of much tirade and excitement said, quite 
proudly, "The negro is much the better looking of the 
two." 

Hill. — The summer, for shortness, has indeed been with- 
out precedent. How we long for the good old days of 
childhood to come back, when a half-hour seemed a month, 
and the intervening time, between Sunday and Sunday, an 
age! Now birth-days and annual festivals scarcely knell 
their departure ere they return. Would there be such a 
crowding of duties then? One grows weary of doing; also 
of leaving duties undone. 

The loveliness of the weather, the few months I have 
been here, has never been surpassed. Although the heat 
often rises high, a fresh breeze makes it in reality seems 
much less. I have never passed a summer with so little 
inconvenience from the heat, and have heard many people 
from Pennsylvania, as well as more northern states, say 
the same. Coming from the bleak and hilly north, where 
four months are all we boast of genial weather, free from 
frosts and north-east winds, — where we cherish with utmost 
care our garden flowers, protecting them from summer's 
heat and winter's cold, — where, of wild flowers, we have 
many times returned rich, after a long tramp, with short- 
stemmed violets, onesided dandelions, and blear-eyed 
daisies, — to this country, where charming weather predom- 
inates from early spring until the new year comes, displac- 
ing the old, we have grown wild in our enthusiasm of this 
beautiful land. We have revelled in flowers growing 
under our windows and at our doors, which, with much 
tending, we have tempted to bloom meagerly in garden- 
borders and green-houses in New England, such as ver- 
benas, — velvet and sweet-scented, — petunias, fox-gloves, 



KANSAS LAWS — GOVERNOR SHANNON. lOQ 

phlox, larkspurs, spiderwort, etc., an endless variety. 

In the pillared clouds of morning and evening, when 
the golden and sapphire mingle, we are reminded of the 
burnished gates, and the streets inlaid with pearl, of the 
New Jerusalem. 

While watching the changing, flitting shadows, which at 
one moment make the distant landscape of a deep blue, 
and then of a brown color, with little green spots like oases 
in the desert, life's changes have been typified in the shad- 
ows and sunuy light, and we have grown wiser, treasuring 
the lesson. 

gth. — Near the close of an unusually quiet Sabbath, we 
were attracted by the hasty, furious riding of a horseman 
upon the prairie going toward town. He soon returned, 
and others followed in squads of three and four. We 
heard the merry laugh, and occasional snapping of a gun. 
They were going out to the claim where the hunted negro 
lives. It was the hour of the meeting here; but, owing to 
the excitement, few came. A lady, who came from that 
neighborhood, gave us the fact. A wagon load of pro- 
slavery men about Lawrence, with some Missourians, had 
gathered at Mr. Ross' to take or kill the negro. Some 
person on a near claim, seeing the crowd, and suspecting 
the design, had hastily come to him for help. Those we 
saw passing out were some of the citizens. When the 
wagon-load of the mob arrived, the negro was out on the 
prairie, driving in the cattle. The gentleman of the house 
told them if they wished to fight him they could do so; 
but they could not have the negro. They left with threats 
of vengeance, and aid from Missouri. 

14th. — Gov. Shannon passed within a mile of Lawrence, 
today, on his way to Lecompton — a little settlement some 
fourteen miles above here. A few little cabins are erected 
in a broken country; but its greatness lies in the future, as 
the Shawnee legislators have designated this site as the 
seat of government. It is also the place where Samuel J. 
Jones,' postmaster at Westport, Missouri, and sheriff of 



no KANSAS. 

Douglas County, Kansas Territory, has, in most wanton 
manner, burned down the houses of some free-state set- 
tlers. Gov. Shannon passed by us entirely, living in the 
largest settlement in the territor}'. Having received the 
right hand of fellowship from Missouri, what can we of the 
territory expect? He evidently does not desire the ac- 
quaintance of those whom he was sent to govern; but is 
himself to be governed by the border towns in Missouri. 

i^th. — Gov. Shannon returned tonight. He stopped a 
moment at the Cincinnati House, and was waited upon by 
one of our leading citizens, with the request that he would 
come out and meet the people. He declined; he must go 
four miles further tonight, and his suite cannot be detained. 
The offer was at once made to carr}' him to Franklin, 
where his party propose remaining over night, after he 
should have been introduced to our people, and have ex- 
changed mutual greetings. This, also, he declined; and, 
as he entered his carriage to drive away, smothered groans 
struck on his ear. the natural language of an indignation 
towards a man so weak, so pusillanimous, — a man sent to 
govern a people, and refusing to meet that people on the 
most common terms of civility. We deprecate this expres- 
sion of feeling, knowing that to bear is better than to 
retort, and to the office we should try to pay that respect 
of which the man plainly shows he is not worthy. With 
the Rev. Thojnas Johnson, of the Shawnee Mission School, 
a slaveholder, he will pursue, on the morrow (Sunda_\), his 
way thither. 

igili. — A delegate convention was held at Topeka to-day 
to take into consideration the formation of a state consti- 
tution. The convention decided, after full discussion, to 
call a constitutional convention, to be held on the 22d of 
October, at Topeka, and organized a provisional govern- 
ment to superintend the election of delegates. The execu- 
tive committee consisted of Messrs. J. H. Lane, Chairman; 
J. R. Goodin, Secretary; G. W. Smith, C. K. HoUiday, C. 
P. Schuyler, M. J. Parrott, and G. W. Brown. 



KANSAS LAWS GOVERNOR SHANNON. Ill 

Previous to this co/ivention, the mass convention, held 
at Lawrence August 15th, had resulted in a call for this of 
the 19th, at Topeka. Also a delegate convention of the 
free-state party was held at Big Springs, September 5th, to 
fix a day for the election of a delegate to Congress, and to 
nominate a candidate. At this convention, the gth of 
October was named for the election, instead of the 2d, the 
day fixed by the Shawnee Mission Legislature, and Ex- 
Governor Reeder was nominated for candidate. The con- 
vention, by resolution, referred the matter of a state 
organization to the Topeka convention, which was to rep- 
resent all parties. 

22d. — For the last few days nothing had been thought of 
but company. The house was full all day, and nearly all 
night. There are also continued rumors of new invasions, 
which disturb us but little. 

Yesterday Mrs. Webb and I went out to Mr. Nute's. 
He has a most lovely location two miles from town, and 
himself and wife are well pleased with their Kansas home. 
Last evening there was a melon party at the hall, at which 
there was a general gathering of old and young. 

About this tinie the people of Lawrence entered into a 
self-defensive organization. The street broils and outrages 
were becoming so frequent their lives were in dail}^ peril. 
As soon as the organization was complete, and their badges 
gave evidence of a secret society, the outrages ceased. 

2^th. — Rode down to Fish's, after tea, with the doctor, 
who went upon business. There was quite a gathering 
there, and one of our western orators was making a speech. 
He said repeatedly, "I have saw," which is their frequent 
mode of expression. On our way back, we passed several 
parties camped by the wayside, sitting or lying in the light 
of the bright campfire, while the sentinel leaned against a 
tree. We passed others, where they had no fires, but slept 
in and under the wagon, on the bare ground. The air of 
this country is so pure that persons do not take cold from 
lying on the ground. Doctor is tired with his various and 



112 KANSAS. 

constant cares, and sleeps sitting in the bottom of the car- 
riage, while I drive on homewards. It was eleven o'clock, 
and the moon was shining brightly. 

^oth. — A gentleman called, and inquired for doctor. On 
being told that he was absent, he inquired for me. After 
saying to me, "Doctor is not at home," to which I assent, 
he said, "We have some news." A long pause followed, 
in which a thousand fears and anxieties rushed upon me. 
At last, by dint of questions, the following was the sub- 
stance of the "news " I was able to gather: 

Two regiments of men are on their way to Lawrence — 
one thousand men in each regiment. They have the gal- 
lows erected upon which to hang Gov. Reeder, and the 
rifle loaded with which to shoot Col. Lane. 

I raise doubts as to the probability of such a thing; but 
he is sure, having been "specially informed by one ac- 
quainted with their movements, and who saw them as far 
on their way as the Shawnee meeting-house." 

In compliance with his urgent request, I promise to tell 
doctor the moment he comes, that "he may go down and 
advise with him." Some people are so sure that large 
numbers of Missourians are getting ready to attack Law- 
rence on Tuesday, that messengers are sent out to count 
the wagons. They return saying all is quiet. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

GENERAL DISCOMFORT MURDER OF DOW. 

Oct. 14. — A beautiful day. The air is hazy from the 
many fires on the prairie, which are burning day and night. 
They are a grand and sublime sight when spreading over 
a large tract, the tall grass waving with every breeze, now 
fiercely blazing, and now with graceful undulating motion, 
looking indeed like a "sea of flame," when the fiery billows 
surge and dash fearfully; or when the winds are still, like 
an unruffled, quiet burning lake. Doctor went to Waka- 
rusa again to visit some sick friends. Word had been sent 
us of a .new road, and we attempted to find it. After 
leaving the old road and riding some distance across the 
prairie, where there was no track, and through fields partly 
fenced, we came to a line of timber, where all our directions 
failed, and the straight way seemed wholly lost. As we 
were halting to decide upon our course, a woman came 
toward us from a little cabin not far olf. She directed us 
to a little foot-path through the timber, and we followed it, 
turning this way and that to avoid crushing the wheels 
against the trees, and at ever}^ moment bending low to save 
our heads from striking the huge branches. After a quar- 
ter of a mile of such traveling we were at the crossing. 
And such a crossing! If the old crossing was poor, this 
was so in a superlative sense, so very steep and abrupt. 
We went into the water with a lurch, almost tearing the 
body of the carriage from the wheels. A man came to the 
oppasite bank, which was some twelve feet high, and not 



114 KANSAS. 

lacking much of being perpendicular, and l)\- motions, and 
a few words we could hear, made us understand that we 
must keep down the river a little further, in the attempt to 
cross. Coming to the other shore, there was a little bank 
about a foot high, then a level broad enough for the wagon 
to stand upon, before reaching the perpendicular hill. 
The horse was frightened, and unwilling to take us out of 
the water. Doctor jumped out to the shore, and I was 
gathering strength for a similar leap, when one foot broke 
through the bottom of the buggy, and I was fairl} caught. 
However, as the doctor was holding both my hands. I did 
not go into the water. The horse, finding himself without 
a load, walked out of the river. A consultation was then 
held with the man on the bank, as to the probability of 
getting to the summit with the carriage. He said he had 
never seen an}' carriages go up, but oxen had been. By 
leading the horse and pushing the carriage, the height was 
gained, while I clambered up b}' a winding path, over huge 
logs, and whatever came in my way. We returned to 
Lawrence by still another route. 

On tlie ninth of October the election for territorial 
delegate to Congress, and delegates to the Constitutional 
Convention, was held. In Lawrence, five hundred and 
fifty-seven votes were polled for Gov. Reeder. 

2ist. — The weather is getting frosty, and reminds us 
that bland airs and summer skies do not always last. Mr. 
J. M. S. Williams arrived from Boston. He has had a 
long and tedious tri^? through Missouri b}- cars, boat and 
stage, and has had some conversation with the people. 
In fact, he has seen something of the ruffians. 

2jd. Mr. W^illiams and Mr. Pomeroy return from To- 
peka nearly frozen. Mr. Williams is much pleased with the 
country, though he sees it under most unfavorable circum- 
stances. Business at home makes his stay here very short. 
He amuses us with his report of the crowded state of the 
boarding-houses at Topeka. Some dozen or more sleeping 
in an unfinished room, in berths like those on boats, while 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT — MURDER OF DOW. II5 

the cold was most severe. The place left for a window 
was wholl}- open, thus giving a free circulation to the frosty 
air. 

The Constitutional Convention, held at Topeka, was 
called together at one o'clock, October 22, by J. A. Wake- 
field. A quorum not being present, the convention ad- 
journed until Wednesday' morning. The convention was 
called to order. Prayer by Rev. H. S. Burgess. Roll 
called by J. K. Goodin. Thirty members responded. S. 
C. Smith, of Lawrence, was elected secretary; J. H. Lane, 
president. The oath of office was administered to the 
president and the several members by J. A. Wakefield. 
Rev. Mr. Burgess chosen chaplain; Mclntire, door-keeper; 
Lyman Farnsworth, sergeant-at-arms; S. F. Tappan, re- 
porter for the. Herald of Freedom; John Speer, reporter 
for the Kansas Tribune; E. C. K. Garrey, reporter for the 
Kansas Freeman: J. Redpath, reporter for the Missouri 
Democrat. 

JVo7\ I3lh. — Rain}' and very chilly. A military supper 
in the evening. For two or three days men have been out 
in the woods hunting game; and to-night a large number of 
our citizens have gathered to partake of the supper, and 
join in the general festivities of the hour. Notwithstanding 
the rain, the mud being over shoes in depth, at an early 
hour the large dining-hall of the hotel was full of people, 
our neighbors and friends, while many came from miles 
away. A piano stood at the upper end of the room, — 
parlor and dining hall being thrown into one, — and over 
the arch of the folding doors w'aved the "star-spangled 
banner," presented to the military companies on the fourth 
of July. The tables occupying the length of the hall, in 
double rows, were loaded with wild game — rabbits, squir- 
rels, prairie-chickens, turkeys, and one porker, — whether 
native of the country, deponent saith not, — while cakes 
of every variety, with pastry, grace the table. All this 
cooking was done by one lady, Mrs. Gates, — one of the 
earliest settlers, — who has the Yankee adaptedness of 



Il6 KANSAS. 

character to the circumstances in which she is placed. Mrs. 
Gates came from Worcester, Mass., with the first party. 
It was a New England gathering, though some, by their 
dress, tinsel ornaments, or their peculiarity of speech, 
showed that their home was further west. Some of the 
latter were asking continually, "When will the supper be 
ready? If there is going to be anything to eat, let us have 
it now." That our people are eminently social, the fre- 
quent public gatherings here and at Topeka will bear 
jvitness. A person coming in to mingle in the scene would 
never realize he was in a newly settled country, or in a 
town scarcely a year old. 

igtJi^ — We heard yesterday that Mr. Conway, who for 
several weeks has been very ill, but had partially recovered, 
is taken down again with symptoms of fever and ague. 
The weather is exceedingly cold, and he is in a little 
"shake" cabin, Mrs. Ropes', where the wind creeps in at 
every crevice, playing hide-and-seek with the papers pasted 
on the walls. The house has but one room, besides a 
little attic, which is used for a kitchen, dining-room, bed- 
room, sick-room, and general receiving-room. Worn out with 
Mr. Conway's long illness, and that of her daughter, the 
lady, who has watched over him with a mother's gentleness, 
is also ill. I send to Mr. Conway to come to our house if 
he can be brought; and soon a carriage drives up with the 
shadow, pale and ethereal, which sickness has left of Mr. 
Conway wrapped up in coats to the number of three, 'with 
comforters and other articles to keep the cold from striking 
his attenuated frame. He says, in his own peculiar way, 
"I thought, Mrs. Robinson, I would never be here again; 
but it is delightful, and, I feel better now." 

The sun was shining pleasantly in at the windows, the 
fire was crackling in the stove, spreading a genial warmth 
throughout the room, and seated in the nice large rocker 
drawn up before it, Mr. Conway, could look out upon the 
beautiful country miles east and south, and in his enthusiastic 
love of nature, would forget his own ills. It was pleasant 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT — MURDER OF DOW. II7 

to see the effect of ph3'sical comfort. Now, with outward 
cheerfiUness, came inner strength and courage. Naturall}' 
of very slender constitution, with too much mental power 
for the physical, with energy and inherent love for freedom 
and justice, Mr. Conway has, in working for the cause here, 
gone beyond his strength, and pays the penalty, in a wasted 
frame and general prostration. There has been a good 
deal of sickness in the countr}^ this fall, — slow fever and 
chills. The}' prevail mostl}' in the low grounds near the 
rivers. We hear from some settlements, especially from 
those south on the Neosho, that sickness has laid its heavy 
hand on the strongest, and scarcely any have escaped the 
paralyzing blow. So far as we can learn, exposures, either 
necessary or unavoidable, have been the cause. 

The colony at Hampden has suffered most deplorably. 
The facts, as given me b}' one of the residents, are these: 
There were one hundred members of the colon}^, — men, 
women and children, when they arrived in the territory. 
When the town site was laid off, there were over sixty men 
to receive their apportionment of lots. The}' came in 
April, and in order to provide for the winter store, they 
thought first of all it was necessary to get the seed into the 
ground, they living meanwhile in tents. All their energies, 
forgetful of present necessities, seemed to be directed to 
their future good. Health and valuable lives were sacri- 
ficed thereb}'. There was no saw-mill, and w'hatever 
houses they made at last were of logs and "shakes." 
There were very few springs in the vicinity, consequently 
the}' drank of the river water, which is slow and sluggish, 
and, when the dr}' season came, was covered with a green 
substance found upon all stagnant water, although good 
water could be obtained by digging twenty-five feet, as one 
or two wells proved. 

With sickness of body came heart-sickness, and a yearn- 
ing for pleasant New England homes; and most of those 
who lived through such discouragements either went to 
other settlements or returned. 



Il8 KANSAS. 

At Osawatomie, situated near the junction of the Pota- 
wattomie and the Osage, in a pleasant, tliough rather low 
country, fever has burned up the blood of man}', leaving 
wan cheeks and livid lips. Yet, ever}'' one is free to ac- 
knowledge that no country has a purer atmosphere, or 
more healthful climate. In cases of sickness in Lawrence, 
they have, so far as I know, been owing to some gross 
outrage of the physical laws of our being, some unwarranted 
over-exertion of energies either mental or physical; a knowl- 
edge of such undue effort being confessed to by the indi- 
vidual, with the expectation that sickness would follow. 

The climate, or the country, should bear no part of the 
blame. It is a question whether, in the necessary exposures 
of our new homes, the never-ceasing labors incident to 
such a situation, we are as guilty as those who court sick- 
ness in the states, by rash violation of the laws which 
govern us. 

The cholera raged for a time upon the Wakarusa, for 
which drinking of the stagnant water in the river's bed, 
the result of an unprecedented drouth of ten months, and 
in many cases a sad want of personal cleanliness, was the 
prolific cause. About the same time, a gentleman near 
the same region walked into Lawrence in the heat of the 
day, with perspiration starting from every pore, and blood 
at fever heat. He plunged into the river for a cooling 
bath, remaining sometime. A pleasant coolness was in- 
duced; but the blood was driven back from the extremities 
to course madly about the internal organs. Soon after 
eating a hearty supper he retired. The awakening, after 
a short, restless sleep, came with bitter pain, and life- 
crushing agonies. Death in a few hours closed the scene. 
The stricken wife, coming to gladden his home, heard of 
this sudden bligliting of her hopes, as she reached Kansas 
City. On the Missouri river, too, sickness liad ruled the 
hour; and some who bade their friends good-by in the old, 
dearly loved home, to seek a new one beneath the sunny 
skies of Kansas, found a grave on those dreary Missouri 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT MURDER OF DOW. IIQ 

shores. They call the sickness such as the water pro- 
duces; we call it the result of their ungoverned appetites. 
The tables upon the boats are loaded with every delicacy 
that man can invent. Meats with rich gravies, the richest 
of pastries and cakes, jellies, ices, fruit and nuts, tempt 
the palate. Can any stomach bear a mingling together of 
all these, and give no sign of ill usage, no cry for a reprieve? 
Yet many are the instances where such overtasking of life's 
energies has resulted in a brief sickness, and a burial in 
the waters. Others have lived to reach the territory in 
time to die there. 

One man went on to one of the boats with a large bunch 
of radishes in his hand. The captain warned him, it being 
the cholera season, but he said he "could eat them, or any- 
thing else, without danger." But ere the morning sun 
arose, the death damps were heav}' on his brow, and the 
eye recognized no longer the friends, though strangers, 
who administered to his fast-failing necessities. Another 
man, who was ill upon the boat, reached Kansas City, and 
there drank very freely of ice-water, not heeding the sug- 
gestions of others who thought it unsafe. The same after- 
noon he walked out eight miles and back, into the country. 
The next day he walked out again. He was taken most 
violently ill. The next evening, at the sunset hour, the 
tall trees in the leaf}' wood were waving over his western 
grave, and the moaning winds sang his requiem. 

The poor, homesick youth, whose vision has been 
bounded by the smoke of their mother's kitchen chimney, 
go East again with direful stories of the dread poison in 
the Missouri waters, and that there is death in the springs 
of Kansas. Some persons do not drink the water clear, 
but add brandy, or drink Rochelle powders; as if the drink 
which God provided for his creatures was not as health- 
giving as the substitutes of man, making their wisdom 
greater than his! 

It is a fact that in Kansas City, within the short space 
of two hours' time, ten young men died, victims to cholera, 



I20 KANSAS. 

the papers stated. They did not state that the\- were most 
dissolute and intemperate, ready for the sickle when the 
reaper came. 

Many statements have appeared in eastern papers, from 
the pens of some fresh from the counting-rooms of their 
employers, or the school-room, and unfitted either by 
nature or by habit to battle with life in its stern realities. 
Thffiy cameto this country, dazzled by the lure of their own 
visionary hopes, which, with many people, makes all in 
the distance look bright and golden, but the intervening 
space passed over has the same dull hue of the last stand- 
point. These statements wear the color of disappoint- 
ment, with a sly vein of revenge upon somebody running 
through all; a bitterness, and a general tone of falsehood. 
The little discomforts by the way, of crowded cars and 
overloaded boats, with perhaps a bed upon the cabin fioor, 
instead of the private chamber with its nice appliances for 
comfort they have left, cause the bright vision to which 
distance lent enchantment to grow sudden!}- dim. They 
reach Kansas City, and find the levee a perfect crowd of 
men and horses, Mexican drivers from Santa Fe, with 
their mules half wild, and always headstrong— each man 
looking out for himself, as the one thing especially upper- 
most in his mind, not mindful of the attractions these kid- 
gloved, gaiter-booted, jeweled gentry display. They look 
upon the brick walls of stores and warehouses along the 
levee, upon which the sun glares wildly, and upon the 
water, where the reflection gleams and glitters, and at 
length reach the hotel whose rooms are already full of 
wearied mothers and sick children. Where will our dainty 
selves find rest? is a question anxiously asked b}' them, 
but unanswered. Shall we wonder, then, that they turn a 
lingering look homeward, unimpressed as they are with 
the reality, that life's mission is to "battle and be strong?" 
"When they find no softly cushioned car ready to transport 
them to the little town of Lawrence, to which distance still 
lends a charm, and if the stage and hacks are full, the 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT MURDER OF DOW. 12 1 

emigrant wagons alone affording a passage, can we wonder 
at the lengthening of their wayworn faces? The hill 
difficulty is to be surmounted, and stands between them 
and the end of their journey, like a towering mountain. 
Little hearts, carried along, until now, upon the smooth 
traveled paths which their fathers have marked out, and 
buoyed above deep waters b}^ encouraging words of doting 
mammas and flattering friends, and lulled into silken 
dreams by the general consenting voice of societ}', that life 
has in it nothing "real," nothing "earnest," save to float 
gail}' on its summer tides, — where is your courage now? 
Where is your hope for success in life? Where that energy 
which will scale mountains amid winter's battling snows? 
Where, with such automatons as 3'ou, would have been the 
world's great men — her Howards, her Newtons, her Wash- 
ingtons, or her Napoleons? 

Some of these poor apologies of humanity leave directly 
on the next boat, on a home-bound ticket. As an excuse 
for the shortness of their sta}^ they recapitulate the thou- 
sand-and-one stories which the Missourians repeat to many 
emigrants; such as no water, no wood, the ground parched, 
and cracked open in large seams, the people d^-ing of starva- 
tion, etc., etc. Some others, however, a little afraid of the 
jest which would meet them did they return with the old story, 
"There are giants in the land," make a prodigious effort, 
and, upon a springless cart, it ma\- be, reach Lawrence. 
As they approach the little town, with buildings of wood 
and stone, erected and being erected, with the pioneer 
buildings thatched (now used as stables) intermingled, 
how their visions fade, and, and the glittering palaces of 
their imaginations fall! The town of six months' existence 
boasted nothing but bare comforts: but these foolish youths 
write home how they have to sleep upon the floor, with a 
buffalo robe only between them and the cottonwood boards, 
with five or six others in the same room; that the windows 
to the boarding-house are of cloth instead of glass; that 
there are large cracks in the wall, through which the wind 



122 KANSAS. 

and dust blow; that there are larger cracks in the i\ooT 
overhead, and through them the straw falls upon the table 
below; that butter is scarce; and many other troubles, 
which make them say, in vexation of spirit, "I am weary, 
I am sick of this poor life!" Does any one need further 
evidence that they are men of sense? These temporary 
arrangements were the growth of the hour. They were 
not intended as permanent institutions, and more comfort- 
able dwellings have taken their place. The Yankee enter- 
prise and thrift which remained after the thorough sifting 
of the early spring, in spite of fear of cholera and lack of 
general comfort, have added things most needed. The 
absence of those delicate youths who needed sofas to 
lounge upon, and silver forks for their especial use, is the 
greatest blessing of all. A new country, especiall}', wants 
no drones in the hive; and in a country like this, and in 
this age, when the battle is for freedom, and the hue and 
cry of our enemies, -'Death to the Yankees!" is ever ring- 
ing in our ears, we want men, and not creatures claiming 
to be possessed of manliness, who have not enough of that 
spirit to be willing, for freedom's sake, to forego some 
trivial comforts, and, like the fathers of '76, who bore the 
severest privations, bide the hour, and with willing hands 
and strong hearts aid to make this country, in its institu- 
tions as in soil and climate, the garden of the world. 
Where would have been the liberties, which, as a precious 
heirloom, have come to us, had our fathers been of such 
sickly, such squeamish sensibilit}'? We do not deny there 
have been discomforts; but what new country was ever 
settled without them? The people of Illinois, in times of 
low water on the Ohio, in the early settlement of that 
country, liave had nothing to eat but bread made of shorts 
with stewed pumpkin. In Pennsylvania, with no over 
supply of mills, fifty miles often being the shortest distance 
to one in running order in low water, for weeks the early 
settlers lived on pota^es. Did not our great-grandmothers 
live on bean-porridge, weave all the clothing for the family. 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT MURDER OF DOW. I 23 

and, at the same time, gird their husbands and sons for the 
battle, out of their love for justice and right? We have 
fallen on degenerate times. The "lines have fallen to us 
in pleasant places;" but the love of liberty has grown weak. 
A sad wailing comes up over the land — a wailing for the 
departed spirit of '76. 

2ist. — Charles Dow, a 3'oung free-state man from Ohio, 
was killed today by Coleman, a pro-slavery man, at Hick- 
ory Point. Some dispute had arisen about a claim, and 
Coleman had repeatedly threatened to kill Dow. This 
morning Dow went to a blacksmith's shop, at some distance 
from Mr. Branson's where he boarded. Mr. Branson pro- 
posed he should take his gun with him as a means of pro- 
tection, but he declined doing so. Having finished his 
business at the shop, he left to return to Mr. Branson's; 
and when a few rods on his way, hearing the click of a 
gun, he turned around, and received the whole charge in 
his breast. The gun was a double-barrelled shot-gun, and 
loaded with slugs. This happened about one o'clock; and 
the murdered body was left by the barbarians lying by the 
side of the road where he fell until sundown. Some of the 
accessories then sent word to Mr. Branson "that a dead 
body was lying by the roadside." He had begun to fear 
that some ill had befallen his friend, and, at once recog- 
nizing the body, conveyed it to his house. Coleman is his 
murderer, while Harrison Buckley and Hargous were privy 
to it. There is no doubt that it was a deliberate act. 

Such things are winked at by our governor, no effort 
being made to bring the offenders to justice. Our courts 
are the very mockery of justice. Cole McCrea, a free- 
state man, having, in self-defense, killed Malcolm Clark, 
is confined for months. Judge Lecompte packs the jury 
in order to get him indicted. A meeting was held at Leav- 
enworth, in May, at which resolutions most intolerant in 
their character, proposing outrage and violence upon the 
persons of free-state settlers, were passed. Thirty men, as 
a committee of vigilance, were also appointed, "to observe 



124 KANSAS. 

and report all such persons as shall, b}' the expression of 
abolition sentiments, produce disturbance to the quiet of 
the citizens or danger to the domestic relations; and all 
such persons so offending shall be notified and made to 
leave the territory." "The meeting was ably and eloquent- 
ly addressed by. Judge Lecompte, Col. J. N. Burnes, of 
Western Missouri, and others." Such is the judge the 
federal government has sent us — a man of partisan charac- 
- ter, who throws his whole influence upon the side of vio- 
lence and disorder, and is aiming to form the domestic 
institutions of the territory. Collins, a free-state man, 
was shot, not long since, by Pat Laughlin, and no notice 
was taken of it b}' the government. If Coleman should 
be arrested, have we not good reason to believe, though 
the evidence was clear as the sunlight that his hand was 
stained with the blood of a fellow-creature, that Judge 
Lecompte would so pack a jury as to clear the culprit? 
The design of the pro-slavery men is to drive out all who 
are firm and true to the principles of freedom, and in this 
design the officials s}'mpathize. Justice weeps at the 
shameless course of her executors in this territory. 

24tlt. — A friend is over from Blanton. The citizens of 
that region and Hickory Point are much aroused by the 
murder of Dow. He was a mild and peaceable young man, 
much esteemed by those who knew him. He had recenth' 
received a letter from his friends, in which they urge him 
to come home, as they fear his life is in danger. Our 
friend, S. C. Smith has just answered the letter, and borne 
to them also the sad tidings of their son's decease b}' the 
bloody hand of slavery's minions. Another martyr has 
fallen on the green plains of Kansas for those rights which 
Heaven vouchsafes to everj'liuman creature with his breath 
of life. A meeting to take into consideration the bloody 
deed, and their murderous designs, as the lives of other 
free-state men are sought after with vile, fiendish threats, 
is called for next Monday, November 26th. The murderer 
has tied to Missouri. 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT MURDER OF DOW. I 25 

21th. — Tuesday morning. At about four o'clock, this 
morning, was awakened by the hurried tramp of horses' 
feet approaching the house. A loud knock upon the door 
soon followed, with the instantaneous halloa, so common 
in this western country, used instead of the more courte- 
ous civilities of conventional life, saving the rider the 
trouble of dismounting. Recognizing the voice, my hus- 
band asked, "What's wanted?" 

S. C. Smith replied, "Jones, with a party of Missourians, 
had taken from his house a Mr. Branson. He has been 
rescued by a party of free-state men, and they are now on 
their way here. Runners have gone to Missouri, and 
there will be a battle fought this morning." 

The simple question asked was, "Where?" 

And the brief reply, "Down here on the plain," was only 
a little startling. 

The horseman drove away, and we heard already the 
sound of the drum, and the quick words of the captain of 
the little band of rescuers, as they came upon the brow of 
the hill beyond us. Scarcely had the fire been built ere 
the simple word, "Halt!" in a tone of command, was 
spoken, and a line fronting the house quickly formed. 
The slight form of the leader stood a little nearer the door; 
and, when his peculiarly dry manner of speech fell upon 
the ear in his brief inquiry, "Is Dr. Robinson in?" S. N. 
Wood's identity was also known. The doctor opened the 
door and invited them in. 

The fact of the rescue was stated, and Mr. Branson, 
being in the ranks, was ordered to "step forward, and tell 
his story," which he did with much feeling, and with the 
appearance of a person who is heart broken. I shall 
never forget the appearance of the men in simple citizens 
dress, some armed and some unarmed, standing in un- 
broken line, just visible in the breaking light of a Novem- 
ber morning. This little band of less than twenty men, 
had, through the cold and upon the frozen ground, walked 
ten miles since nine o'clock of the previous evening. Mr. 



126 KANSAS. 

Branson, a large man, of fine proportions, stood a little 
forward of the line, with his head slightly bent, which an 
old straw hat hardly protected from the cold, looking as 
though, in his hurry of departure from home in charge of 
the ruffianly men, he took what ever came first. As he, in 
simple, unaffected style, told of this outrage upon human- 
ity, we felt that, as in days when men left their ploughs in 
the furrows at their country's call, so now have come again 
"days which try men's souls," and that this may be the 
beginning of a contest which shall drench the whole 
country in blood. Now, as then, we need strong hearts to 
battle for the right — to die, it may be, if the sacrifice is 
needed. 

The drum beat again, and the rescuers and rescued 
passed down to Lawrence. After telling Emily Hunt she 
had better take another nap, in order to be prepared for 
any emergency which might arise, I again fell asleep, 
leaving my husband thinking over the matter by the parlor 
stove, and was awakened again, as the sun was rising, by 
the screams of coyotes in the distance. The first impres- 
sion was that the Missourians had come. The facts of the 
rescue are these: The people of Hickory Point yesterday 
held the proposed meeting in reference to the murder of 
Dow, and passed resolutions condemning the wanton out- 
rage, and that Coleman should be brought to justice. He, 
in the mean time had gone to Gov. Shannon, at the Shaw- 
nee Mission, for protection. He was there taken into cus- 
tody by Samuel J. Jones, who, it will be remembered, was 
engaged in the burning of two settlers' houses at Lecomp- 
ton, on the pretence that the claims were his, while he is a 
citizen and acting postmaster at Westport, Mo. This 
pretence of taking Coleman'into custody was done without 
any warrant being issued, or examination had. 

On Nesterday morning a peace-warrant was made out by 
Hugh Cameron, of Lawrence, at the instigation of Bradley, 
a pro-slavery man living at Hickory Point, against Jacob 
Branson, the friend of the murdered Dow, and was placed 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT — MURDER OF DOW. I 27 

in the hands of Jones. In the evening, after Mr. Branson, 
with his family, had retired, Jones, with a part}' of mounted 
men, rode up to his lone cabin upon the prairies, a half- 
mile from neighbors. He knocked at the door. To the 
question, "Who is there?" the reply was given, "A 
friend." "Come, in then," was the response, and the little 
cabin was full of men — rough, savage armed men. Jones 
went to the bedside, and, presenting his pistol to Branson's 
breast, said "You are my prisoner." 

Mr. Branson asked, "By what authority?" 
Oaths, and the threat, "I will blow you through," was 
the decisive answer. The others, with guns cocked, gath- 
ered around, and took him prisoner. Thus, in the night, 
was an innocent, defenceless man taken from his home and 
famil}' by a gang of twenty-five whiskey-drinking ruffians, 
showing no papers of arrest, and answering with oaths and 
threats of instant death any questions as to the cause of 
such summar}', unlawful proceedings. They proceeded to 
Buckley's house, and, after stopping a while, by a long 
and winding way to elude pursuers, the}- took the route to 
Blanton's Bridge. They strengthened their valor by taking 
another "drink." Jones, running in his horse by the side 
of Mr. Branson, said, "I heard there were a hundred men 
at your house today," and talked a good deal "of the sport 
they would have had with them," and regretted "being 
cheated out of it. " 

This affair, though done in the darkness, was soon 
brought to light. The people felt that the life of another 
of their citizens was to be taken by the hands of a lawless 
mob, at the suggestion of two men who were the accesso- 
ries to the murder of Dow, and who were connected with 
this new outrage. Earnestly, as honest men will act when 
they feel that life is at stake, and that the life of a valued 
friend, these settlers acted; and the tidings flew on the 
speed of wings from one claim to another, until a few, a 
lesser number than the party with Jones, were gathered 
together. With the intention of rescuing the prisoner from 



128 KANSAS. 

a cruel death, they took a nearer route than that taken by 
Jones and reached the house of Mr. Abbott, where they 
made a stand. The settlers were only ten or twelve in 
number, partially armed, and on foot, while the party now 
with Jones, whose number had somewhat fallen off, was 
mounted and armed. Soon after the settlers had reached Mr. 
Abbott's house, and had recovered their breath after their 
running walk, Jones and his party appeared on a full can- 
ter. As soon as they saw the little band of footmen, they 
endeavored to avoid them by passing the other side of the 
house. The settlers understood the ruse, and passed 
quickly around to meet them, forming, as they did so, in a 
line across the road. 

Jones and his party halted, and asked, "What's up?" 
S. N. Wood's reply was, "That's what we want to know — 
'What's up?' " 

Some one from the band of settlers asked, "Is Mr. 
Branson with 3'ou?" 

He answered for himself, "I am here and a prisoner." 
The word of command given from the little band of foot- 
men was, "Ride out to our side," which he did without hesi- 
tation, notwithstanding Jones' threat of " I'll shoot you." 
A question was then raised by the free-s.ate men as to the 
ownership of the horse he was riding; and as he said it 
was not his, he was ordered to dismount, which order like- 
wise he obeyed. With threats of aid from Missouri, which 
long ago became stereotyped, Jones and his party wheeled 
about, leaving the few unarmed footmen the winners of 
the night. Not a word was lisped of the rare "sport" they 
would have had if they could have found the one hundred 
assembled men; and now, when the party was smaller than 
their own, Jones shook nervousl}', and offered nothing but 
word}' violence. Jones and party rode on to Franklin, the 
little village below Lawrence. The whple matter, the 
rescue, etc., was talked over there, Jones standing by. It 
was suggested that a decision be made as to the propriety 
of sending for aid to Col. Boone, of Westport, Mo., Jones' 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT — MURDER OF DOW. I 29 

father-in-law, or to Gov. Shannon. The question seemed 
to be, which would be most likely to furnish the desired 
assistance in demolishing the doomed town of Lawrence. 
Now was the time for the war. The time specified by the 
Blue Lodges, two months since, had arrived. The har- 
vests in Missouri were in, and the people there could^ 
without injury to their business, attend to the matter; and 
navigation on the Missouri river had closed for the season. 
Jones therefore wrote a dispatch, and sent it by a messen- 
ger, remarking, as he started, "That man is taking my 
dispatch to Missouri, and, by G — d! I will have revenge 
before I see Missouri." Some complaint was made by a 
bystander that this dispatch was not sent to the governor, 
whereupon he sent one to him, Hargous being the messen- 
ger. 

Early on the morning of the 27th, the drum-beat, calling 
the citizens together, was heard in the little town of Law- 
rence. The noise of the hammer was still; but in the tirm 
tread and thoughtful countenances of the men, as they 
walked up the stairway to the hall where the meeting for 
consultation was to be held, the spirit of '76 was visible, 
and a determination, if they must fight against oppression 
as our fathers did, that a new Lexington or Concord on 
Kansas plains shotild go down to posterity with the unsul- 
lied honor of her defenders. 

S. N. Wood, Esq., was appointed chairman of the meet- 
ing. He spoke briefly of the murder, of the meeting of 
the day before in the same neighborhood, of the arrest of 
Mr. Branson, with whom Mr. Dow had lived, of the rescue 
of the prisoner without bloodshed, and of the necessity 
that he and the lest of the community be defended from 
similar threatened attacks. Mr. Branson then made his 
statement. He is an elderly man, of most quiet and mod- 
est deportment. He was much moved, the emotions of his 
heart, broken by the death of his friend, almost forbidding 
utterance. Now the laceration was made yet deeper by 
this wanton assault upon himself, and there was the thought 



130 KANSAS. 

of the terrible suspense as to his fate, making the hours 
long and weary for the desolate wife in that lone cabin. 
All these things tended to crush the spirit of the man, 
unused to such barbarities; and, with tears at times stealing 
down his weather-beaten cheeks, he said he had been 
requested by some friends to leave Lawrence, to seek some 
other place of safety, so that no semblance even of an 
excuse could be given to the enf^my for an attack upon 
Lawrence. He said he would go — Lawrence should not 
be involved in difficulty on his account. If it was the 
decision of the majority, he would leave. He would rather 
go to his home, and die there, and be buried by the side 
of his friend. This statement, full of feeling, touched the 
hearts of the men, who felt they, too, might soon be bat- 
tling in the death-struggle for their own hearth-stones, and 
cries of "No! no!" resounded through the still room. 

G. P. Lowrey, Esq., then proposed a committee of ten 
should be appointed to advise for the common defence 
He had not hitherto acted in these matters, but the threat- 
ening aspect of affairs now demanded action upon the part 
of all our citizens. The measure proposed was purely 
defensive. Mr. Lowrey's remarks met with a warm re- 
sponse in the feelings of all, and his proposition was 
adopted. 

Mr. Conway said they were on the eve of important 
events, and they must have a care to take every step prop- 
erly. They ignored and repudiated the Legislature which 
held its session at the Shawnee Misison. They would 
never give in their allegiance to such a monstrous iniquity. 
To the United States authorities, to the organic act, to the 
courts created under it, and to the judges and marshals 
appointed by the President, they would yield obedience. 
They might oppress them, but they would submit and seek 
redress for grievances at the United States Supreme Court, 
which would give them a fair hearing. They must move 
with prudence, and, having resolved upon the true course, 
maintain it fearlessly. 



GENERAL DISCOMFORT — MURDER OF DOW. 131 

S. N. Wood did not liesitate to sa}^ he was in tlie rescue 
of tlie night before; he knew the importance of the step. 
He was unable to express his feelings when the clicking of 
the gunlocks sounded in the darkness, telling that the hour 
had come for a deadly conflict. He was equally unable to 
do so when, without firing one shot, these men, who had 
boasted so much, gave up the prisoner, declining to fight 
a number less than their own, and with fewer arms. When 
he spoke of the justice of the peace who figured in this 
transaction, and received his office from the bogus Legisla- 
ture, and whose name was Hugh Cameron, a general hiss 
expressed the utter abhorrence of the audience. Others 
spoke of this man living in our midst, who had professed 
to be a free-state man, and who was now a willing instru- 
ment, in the hands of these vile men, to enforce such 
measures upon us. It was moved that a committee of 
three be appointed to wait on Cameron, and demand by 
what authority he acted. The meeting then adjourned 
until two o'clock. 



CHAPTER IX. 

WAKARUSA WAR PREPARATIONS. 

We cannot now tell what an hour may bring forth. This 
whole affair is probably gotten up to test the power of Gov. 
Shannon, and his accomplices, in carrying out the laws of 
the Shawnee Mission School Legislature, which he says 
"shall be enforced;" in the accomplishment of which he 
said he would call upon Missouri for aid, even before 
coming into the territory whose people he was sent to 
govern. No writs of arrest have been attempted to be 
served upon our people for breaking any of their infamous 
laws. Now the time, in the estimation of the worthy law- 
makers, seems to have arrived, when the laws shall be 
enforced, or at least an excuse be found for destroying 
Lawrence, whose prosperity has long been a terrible eye- 
sore to the stockholders in the town of Lecompton. 

Will the free-state men yield their rights? Will they 
obey these laws? As we look each man in the face this 
morning, we read there manliness and determination, — no 
crouching to tyrants. And each man remembers that 
"resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." 

We have nothing good to expect from the territorial 
officers, and Gov. Shannon is sold, body and soul, to the 
oppressing party. The events of last summer, especially 
of the last few months, have shown, too clearly to be mis- 
taken, the infamous designs of those in power here. Qn 
Saturday, April 30th, McCrea, a lawyer of Leavenworth, 
shot Malcolm Clark, a pro-slavery politician, in self- 
defence. He had a long and rigorous imprisonment at the 
fort, and in the jail. At the; court in September they failed 



WAKARUSA WAR PREPARATIONS. I 33 

to find a bill of indictment against him, as the Grand Jury 
could not agree. At that time Col. Lane, of Lawrence, 
went to Leavenworth to offer McCrea his services as coun- 
sel, which Judge Lecompte refused, as Col. Lane would 
not take the oath to support the laws of the Legislature of 
the Shawnee Mission. A majority of the jury were for 
acquittal, and the remainder were divided, one thinking 
the prisoner guilty of murder, and a few of manslaughter. 
At the adjourned term of the court in November, Judge 
Lecompte had added seven new members to the Grand 
Jury, and a bill of indictment for murder in the first degree 
was found against him. Four of the counsel within the 
bar, and officers acting at the tribunal, including the clerk 
of the court, were connected with the lynching of Phillips, 
also a lawyer at Leavenworth, on the 17th of May. At 
this adjourned session of the court, a motion was made, by 
one of the attorneys, to dismiss the clerk, and one of the 
attorneys who had been thus engaged, affidavits having 
been filed to prove the facts; but the court did not grant 
the motion. Thus, while one man is imprisoned for 
months, a jury packed that a bill may be found against 
him, and he is tried by those who are guilty of the most 
abominable crimes, they go unpunished, no effort being 
made to bring them to justice. 

Several of these grand jurors were standing outside of 
the court-house, one day, while several free-state men were 
within, and, speaking of them, asked "if it wouldn't be. 
best to take out a few of those fellows, and string them 
up. Couldn't the laws be so construed as to render it 
legal?" What justice can any one expect from such ex- 
ecutors of the laws? At this time, also, the following call 
for a convention of the "law and order" party was pub- 
lished in all their papers: * 

"GRAND MASS CONVENTION AT LEAVENWORTH CITV, NOV. I4TH, 

'55- 
"The law-abiding citizens of Kansas Territory, without 
distinction of party, will hold a grand mass convention, at 



134 KANSAS. 

Leavenworth, on November 14th. Let there be a grand 
rally of the law and order citizens of the territory. Friends 
of the constitution and laws, turn out, appoint delegates 
from every neighborhood, and come yourselves, and show 
that there is a grand and glorious party in the territory, 
who are determined to stand by the constituted authorities 
of the land. Let come what will, show that 30U are de- 
termined to rally around the bulwarks of the constitution, 
and maintain the laws. Let every county in the territory 
be fully represented. 

By order of 

"Andrew J. Isaacs, R. k. Rees, ] 

John A. Halderman. L F. Hollingsworth, I ^ ,, 

D. J. Johnson D. A. N. Grover, |' 

Wm. G. Mathias, J 

Some of these men are President Pierce's appointees in 
the territory. A part of these were connected in the mob- 
bing of Phillips, while others were of the invading horde 
who trampled upon the constitution, and all the rights it 
ensures to freemen, at the election of the 30th of March. 
This talk of rallying around the constitution, and main- 
taining the laws, sounds well coming from such men I At 
this meeting Gov. Shannon presided, committing himself 
wholly to the partisan movement. He declared that the 
iniquitous laws passed by men from, and chosen b}', Mis- 
souri, -'shall be enforced." He entered into a league with 
these men that he would do all in his power to oppress the 
other party. He called the free-state party a "faction," 
although lie knew that the convention at Topeka was elect- 
ed by votes of at least three-fourths of the residents of the 
territory, and was comprised of men of all political opin- 
ions. He yet rushed on recklessly, led by blind leaders, 
and desiring nothing but that free Kansas shall bear the 
galling yoke of slavery. 

Gen. Calhoun addressed the meeting. Among other 
choice tit-bits, he said: "Shall abolitionists rule you? No, 
never! Give them all they demand, and abolitionism be- 



WAKARUSA WAR PREPARATIONS I 35 

comes the law of the land. You yield, and you have the 
most infernal government that ever cursed a land. 1 would 
rather be a painted slave over in Missouri, or a serf to the 
czar of Russia, than have the abolitionists in power. 
(Tremendous cheers.) Look at the outrages mentioned in 
their journals, of babies shot through the sides of houses, 
etc. There is nothing so low or mean but abolition papers 
are found to tell it. We, the Union-loving and State-rights 
party, of Kansas, have kept too still, and allowed the nulli- 
fiers to proclaim millions of lies. This is a great question 
for abolitionists to make capital out of. We must not 
allow it to go on here. We must stop its growth. It 
tramples upon the laws of the land. Say to your governor, 
'Enforce the laws; we will stand by you, and, if necessary, 
we will spill our life's blood to enforce them!' The gov- 
ernor will be with you. The governor calls for all to help 
him, except abolitionists. He calls to men of all states; 
but he don't want abolitionists." 

After Gen. Calhoun had pursued this strain of remark a 
while longer, he took his seat, and Mr. Parrott arose to 
speak. He, however, gave way to an amendment offered 
by Gen. Clark to the motion of Dr. Stringfellow, "law and 
order" men being substituted for "pro slavery" men, in 
constituting a delegate to the meeting. Mr. Parrott had an 
interview with the governor before the evening session, and 
stated his desire to speak to which the governor with very pro- 
slaveryish leanings, replied, "He did not think anything he 
would say would be at all congenial to the feelings of the 
rest." Twice, after the first attempt to speak, Mr. Parrott 
addressed the chair; but his honor by no sign acknowledged 
he heard a sound. The feelings of the "law and order" 
gentry were expressed in hisses, and groans, and cries of 
"Put him out!" Mr. Parrott's patience still lasted, and as 
he again appealed to the chair, the gray head turned, as 
though on a pivot, upon the shoulders which bore the 
weight of some sixty years, and the coarse features were 
hidden from his sight. He continued: "By the order of 



136 KANSAS. 

this convention, I am a delegate (groans and hisses), and 
I claim the right to be heard (hisses and groans). As the 
friend and advocate of 'law and order,' I shall congratulate 
myself and the country if your labors shall result in 
Strengthening that sentiment in the territory. ('Put him 
out,' and groans.) I was, as \-ou know, a member of the 
Topeka Convention, and am unalterably attached to that 
cause (hisses and groans). Governor, vour presence re 
minds me of other daj'S, when, as the standard-bearer of an 
undivided democracy, you stemmed the tide of political 
opposition which threatened to subvert our cherished prin- 
ciples, in the state from which we hail. Mav I not venture 
to invoke the recollection of that time, to ask of you, and 
the friends by w-hom you are now surrounded, a patient 
hearing of the cause I advocate." At this juncture. Dr. 
Stringfellow^ informed Mr. Parrott that the convention did 
not wish to hear a free-state man. A good deal of con- 
fusion ensuing, Mr. Parrott gave way to the bully crowd. 

A person after Gov. Shannon's own heart now took the 
floor, and, arnong other peaceful and pati-iotic sentiments, 
which brought down the house in cheers long and loud, 
were the following. Speaking of Kansas laws, he said: 
"For the safet}' of our property we must enforce them, for 
the preservation of our lives against higher law marauding. 
I endorse the sentiments of Gen. Calhoun's speech, and 
had I the tongue to be heard to every limit of this Union, 
I would proclaim it, so that old men, now standing on the 
brink of the grave, might hear it; and I would sooner my 
tongue should cleave to the roof of my mouth, or my right 
arm be severed from my body, than silently give over our 
beautiful country to ruthless abolitionism. We must en- 
force the law's, though we resort to the force of arms; trust 
to our rifles, and make the blood flow as freely as do the 
turbid waters of the Missouri, that flows along our banks." 
Judge Lecompte said he would support "law and order " 
Dr. Stringfellow, and Johnson, one of the foremost in the 
gang who lynched Phillips, added tlieir words of counsel. 



WAKARUSA WAR — PREPARATIONS. I37 

Such were the prime movers in this meeting — the governor, 
the judge, the surve\'or-general, appointed by the national 
head, 3'et, first and foremost in a meeting made up of 
border desperadoes. Stringfellow, the pro-slavery apostle, 
was acting with them, a prominent officer of the meeting, 
and, only a few days previous, published an extra, which 
has the following significant sentence: "Thus it is that tlie 
fight so long talked of has begun, and it is hoped that it 
will not be discontinued until Kansas Territory is rid of 
this 'higher law' and blood-thirsty set of negro thieves and 
outlaws." This was said in reference to the murder of 
Collins by Pat Laughlin. Gov. Shannon, in conversation, 
said, "The laws are not so very bad," — notwithstanding, 
for even having in one's house the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, or sajang aught against slavery, one is exposed 
to incarceration within prison walls. After the meeting, 
Gov. Shannon and Surveyor-General Calhoun were the 
invited guests of Lyle and Johnson, notorious ruffians, and 
ringleaders in the mobbing of Phillips. Such being the 
facts of Gov. Shannon's course here, what can we expect? 
Jones threatens that he will return to destroy Lawrence; 
"not one stone shall be left standing." He asserts that 
"Shannon has promised him ten thousand men, to enforce 
the laws." It seems a little singular that such a promise 
should have been made, when not even one arrest has been 
attempted, to test the temper of our people. Where will 
the poor governor find ten thousand men to do his bidding? 
With all these truths before them, our people cannot 
but see that preparations for defence are necessary; and in 
the afternoon the adjourned meeting came together again. 
The pledge reported by Mr. Lowrey, as chairman of the 
committee, was carried through the hall, by the secretarj^ 
of the meeting, and was signed, by those of the audience 
not belonging to volunteer companies, upon the stock of a 
Sharpe's rifle, that being used as the most convenient 
article at hand. The following was the pledge of union 
and mutual support: "We the citizens of Kansas Territo- 



138 KANSAS. 

ry, finding ourselves in a condition of confusion and de- 
fencelessness so great that open outrage and mid-day 
murder are becoming the rule, and quiet and security the 
exception; and whereas the law, the only authoritative 
engine to correct and regulate the excesses and wrongs of 
society, has never yet been extended to our territory, thus 
leaving us with no fixed or definite rule of action, or course 
of redress, we are reduced to the necessity of organizing 
ourselves together on the basis of first principles, and pro- 
viding for the common defense and general security; and 
here we pledge ourselves to the resistance of lawlessness 
and outrage, at all times, when required by the officers who 
may from time to time be chosen to superintend the move- 
ments of this organization." 

It is rumored that the Missourians will make the attack 
tomorrow night. To complete the farce. Gov. Shannon, 
in person, it is said, will lead on his red-shirted butternut- 
colored-trousered allies from Missouri, to subdue and crush 
his own people. Has he no sense, or has his brain become 
so muddled in the bad whiskey in which it floats, as to dull 
all hi? perceptions of justice or right? 

28th — Wednesday morning. A beautiful morning dawn- 
ed upon us — so lovely one could scarceh' realize, that 
under the quiet, soothing influence of such sunny skies, 
the brutal passions of men could so rage as to seek the 
destruction of their fellows. Difficult, indeed, is it to feel 
that destruction is sworn against our homes, and a price 
set upon the heads of some dear to us. Yet, our people, 
having decided upon their course of action, are again at 
their usual places of business. The warlike aspect of 
yesterday has given place to the busy, enterprising spirit 
of the past daily routine which has characterized our peo- 
ple, and made the little cit}' of a year give good promise of 
its future. Though at a moment's warning they could spring 
into line, armed for defence, externally everything looks 
peaceful. Occasionally, a horseman rides rapidly into town, 
and. after stopping a few moments, goes as rapidly out. 



WAKARUSA WAR PREPARA IIONS. I39 

It is rumored that a large force is gathering at Franklin; 
also another at Leconipton, fourteen miles above here. 
We do not credit such reports. Whom will they fight, if 
they come? Will they dare, in this nineteenth century, 
in this boasted land of freedom, to make a raid upon us, 
crying, "Extermination, and no quarter!" A wholesome 
fear of consequences to themselves will prevent this. 
There will, probably, be a good deal of useless bravado, 
and they will strive to place us, if possible, in a wrong 
position before the world. There is a rumor, at evening, 
that an attack is threatened from Lecompton. The night 
is dark. Emily and I are alone. About nine. o'clock some 
gentlemen call, for a few minutes, who have been looking 
around on the hill beyond us, but saw no enemy. The 
hours were rapidly passing; it was nearly eleven o'clock, 
and no one came from town. Emily fell asleep in her chair; 
I went out upon the hill alone, in the darkness and listened; 
I heard nothing. I nearly dropped asleep upon the lounge, 
and was aroused by a loud knocking at the door, and three 
)oung men — George Earl, Albert Searl, John Mack — with 
Sharpe's rifles, and a cheerful "good-evening," entered. 
They came as a guard, to see that no force comes into 
town from the Lecompton road. We talked a while of the 
prospect of war, and were iuUy agreed as to the general 
character of the enemy, their failure of courage when they 
meet a foe equal in number, as Jones and party proved on 
the night of the 26th. We brought in extra candles and 
blankets, and went up stairs for a little sleep. 

2gih.- — It is Thanksgiving day in Massachusetts, as in 
several other states. How anxious for us our friends would 
be, did they know just what dangers threatened us! But 
as they now draw around the cheerful fire, which Novem- 
ber's chilly breath in New England makes social and 
pleasant, they will think of us as enjoying milder skies, 
and dream not of the dire visitation of the ruffianly horde 
gathering in our borders, and thirsting for our blood. The 
little home circle, now sadly broken in upon by life's 



140 KANSAS. 

changes, the revered head having passed onward beN'ond 
the dark portal, will think of her who in young girlhood 
made one of the number around the bright hearth-stone, 
and, having entered upon the responsibilities of life's 
drama, finds her post of duty in this far-awav land. 
Thanksgiving will be kept by some families here, and the 
old custom of inviting one's friends to dine will not be 
forgotten; though the "wars and rumors of wars," with the 
necessary preparations in case of an attack, prevent its 
assuming its usual festive character. 

The town has grown much in the few last weeks. The 
large hotel is complete externally, and, with its large, airy- 
looking windows opening upon a prospect of indescribable 
loveliness, its black walnut doors with a mirror-like surface 
adding beaut3^ promises comfort in the future to the weary 
traveler. There are other buildings, nearly as large, almost 
complete, while others are in process of erection. One has 
to look all around them to avoid running into piles of sand 
and lime, against the hod-carriers and bus_\' workmen. The 
Missourians' have not forsaken us yet, or left us to starve, 
as plenty of their market-wagons are standing at every 
store. The Yankee's money is as good as anybody's money; 
and too much of it, while the borderers treat us so ill, has 
gone into their hands. It is estimated that over a million 
dollars have been paid to them for horses, wagons, pro- 
visions, and freights, within the last year. 

A friend came in from the border at evening, and brought 
reliable information of quite a camp at Franklin, four 
miles from us, and people continually on the wa}'. He 
says there never has been before such excitement in the 
border towns. All kinds of teams are pressed into service, 
and are generally, together with the riders, of most uncouth, 
nondescript appearance. A box of provisions, some shot- 
guns, and a jug, usually complete the outfit; and, coming 
with ox-teams, as quite a number of them do, there must 
also be embarked for the journey a supply of patience. 
The possibility of a retreat has probably never entered 



WAKARUSA WAR — PREPARATIONS. I4I 

the heads of these valiant warriors of the ox-team bat- 
tallion. 

The following extraordinary document, sent by Secretary 
Woodson to Gen. Easton, of Leavenworth, has just ap- 
peared: 

"(Private.) Dear General: The governor has called 
out the militia, and you will hereby organize your division, 
and proceed forthwith to Lecompton. As the governor 
has no power, you may call out the Platte Rifle Company. 
They are always ready to help us. Whatever you dp, do 
not implicate the governor. 

"Daniel Woodson." 

General Easton was appointed, by the Shawnee Legisla- 
ture, general of the territorial militia. The following, also, 
was sent from Westport: 

"Westport, Nov. 27. 

"Hon. E. C. McClarem, Jefferson City: Gov. Shannon 
has ordered out the militia against Lawrence. They are 
now in open rebellion against the laws. Jones is in dan- 
ger." 

Dec. 1st. — Saturday night has come again, bringing the 

close of another week — a week of anxiety to the leaders 

here, upon whom the responsibility of our safety rests. 

Messengers have been sent to the other settlements, at 

different times, notifying them of the threatened attack, 

with the desire that tliey hold themselves in readines to 

come to our aid at a moment's notice. 

Last night, at mid^night, a friendly band of armed men 
V 
came in from Ottawa Creek, having heard of the invasion. 

With flag flying, a company of mounted riflemen have 
come in from Palmyra, also. The Indians, both Shawnees 
and Delawares, have offered their warriors for our de- 
fence. While we would not accept aid from the Indians, 
knowing it would furnish a pretext to the government for 
their extermination, their friendly feelings will go far 
towards sustaining the courage of any who might falter. 



142 , KANSAS. 

Several gentlemen from Lawrence have been down to 
the enemy's camp toda}', as they have, in fact, every previ- 
ous day. They found some of the men in the camp quite 
communicative. They say that "a good man}' are 011 the 
way;" that they are coming "to help the governor." It is 
estimated that not more than one hundred and fiftv are 
now in camp at Franklin, and on the Wakarusa, two or 
three miles below. At the former place, today, about fifty 
of there barbarians were shooting at a mark. Two covered 
wagons, with flags fl3'ing, were standing in the center of 
the town. Some horses were fastened near. 

As one of these gentlemen from Lawrence — Col. Phil- 
lips—went below the Wakarusa, where some half a dozen 
of humanity's roughest specimens guard the ford, on his 
return, their anxiety was expressed in the question, "Have 
you seen many coming?" At one point he overtook a 
covered wagon, with two men and boxes of provisions and 
ammunition, with an escort of a dozen horsemen. A large 
flag, of singular appearance, waved over the wagon. It 
was a "lone star," of deep crimson, upon a white ground. 
As one of the emblems of their secret oaths, as members 
of the Blue Lodge, it was hailed with loud shouts by those 
already in camp. 

Business is nearly given up here. Men gather in groups 
to talk of the probabilities of flying rumors. Never were 
there more in circulation. A committee of safety, also the 
leaders in this emergency, have been appointed. They 
are taking all possible steps tor the defence, learning as 
much as they can of the movements of the enem\'. It is 
rumored, also, that Gov. Shannon has telegraphed to Pres- 
ident Pierce for the military force at Fort Leavenworth. 
The poor people of the territory would wonder what it's 
for, were it not explained by the following dispatch from 
Missoviri: 

"Weston, Mo., Nov. 30. 

"The greatest excitement continues to exist in Kansas. 
The of^cers have been resisted by the mobocrats, and the 



WAKAKUSA WAR I'RA PA RATIONS. I43 

interposition of the militia has been called for. A secret 
letter from Secretar}' Woodson to Gen. Easton has been 
written, in/vvhich the writer requests Gen. Easton to call 
for the rifle company, at Platte City, Mo., so as not to 
compromise Gov. Shannon. Four hundred men from Jack- 
son county are now en route for Douglas county, K. T. 
St. Joseph and Weston are requested to furnish each the 
same number. The people of Kansas are to be subjugated 
at all hazards." 

Yes! Kansas is to be sobjugated at all hazards! and at 
the bidding of a governor who has never 3'et visited the 
people of the territory, but has entered into league and 
copartnership with the people in the border counties of 
another state, he being their "tool," while they find blood 
and treasure for the accomplishment of the designed sub- 
jugation. How the memory of such a lofty purpose must 
gladden his days as he treads softl}' the down-hill side of 
life! 

2d. — 'Sunday. Last evening a meeting was held, ac- 
cording to previous arrangement, to discuss the merits of 
the new constitution. Judge Smith, Col. Lane, and others, 
addressed the meeting. Quite naturally the times in which 
we live, and the present circumstances surrounding us, 
occupied quite largely the attention of the meeting. 

Several utterly false and distorted accounts of the officers 
in and about Lawrence were read from Leavenworth Herald 
(5f the evening before, which so aroused the indignation of 
the meeting that the\' appointed a committee to collect 
carefully all the facts and have them published. The paper 
which was read also containea the information that Shan- 
non had called out Richardson, of Missouri, general of the 
militia. Some incendiar}' appeals from that as well as 
Independence papers were read. 

S. C. Smith has just remarked that "it is the one act in 
Shannon's course which is perfectly consistent; a Missouri 
leader should have command of Missouri banditti." 



144 



KANSAS. 



Dr. Robinson, having been called upon several times to 
speak, also having been called from the hall two or three 
times, at last said, in a plain way, and in brief, that "It was a 
time, in his opinion, for acting rather than speaking; that 
Shannon had placed himself in a bad situation. At his 
bidding all these Missourians had come over to help him 
enforce the laws; but when they come to Lawrence they 
will find that nobody has broken any laws; for the people 
of Lawrence a/e law-abiding people. Their real object 
was to destroy Lawrence; but it was a question whether 
they would attempt it without some pretext; and before the 
American people Shannon would be responsible for their 
conduct. Fearful of some atrocious act upon the part of 
his drunken rabble, he has been compelled to remove the 
most of them to the camps on the Wakarusa. They really 
were in a predicament. They were afraid to attack Law- 
rence without a pretext, and with reason. He had learned, 
but would not vouch for its truth, that Shannon had tele- 
graphed to President Pierce for the troops at the forts. It 
was also reported that Pierce had telegraphed back again 
that he might have them, and, of course, he would get 
them. Of course he would disarm the people when an 
invading force of drunken Missourians was almost at our 
doors, and we have no protection in the government of the 
country. (Laughter, and cries of 'Of course.') Men of 
Lawrence, and free-state men, we must have courage, but 
with it we must have prudence! These men have come 
from Missouri to subjugate the free-state men, to crush the 
free-state movement, — their pretence, that outrages have 
been committed. They are sustained by all the United States 
authorities here; and while they do not think it essential 
that a good cause for fighting be given them, the authorities 
will wait at least for a plausible excuse before commencing 
to shed blood. This excuse must not be given them. 
Each man must be a committee of one to guard the repu- 
tation as well as lives of the free-state men. If the Mis- 
sourians, partly from fear and partly from want of a suffi- 



WAKARUSA WAR PREPARATIONS. I45 

cient pretext, have to go back without striking a blow, it 
will make them a laughing-stock, and redound fearfully 
against Shannon. This is the last struggle between free- 
dom and slavery, and we must not flatter ourselves that it 
will be trivial or short. The free-state men must stand 
shoulder to shoulder, with an unbroken front, and stand or 
fall together in defence of their liberties and homes. 
These may be dark days, but the American people and the 
world will justify us, and the cause of right will eventually 
triumph." The enthusiasm with which these remarks were 
received evinced the deep feeling and determined spirit of 
the meeting. 

A gentleman in from Lecompton, yesterday afternoon, 
reported a most cowardly affair, in which Gen. Clarke was 
the actor. He is the Indian agent, a most infamous man; 
so notorious for his evil deeds before coming here, that it 
is said his life would not be a moment safe where he previ- 
ously lived. His infani}' renders him, however, a better 
tool for this corrupt administration, and a proper ally for 
the other officials here. He has become alarmed for his 
safety, and a few evenings since sent to some of his pro- 
slavery friends to come to his house to act as guard. They, 
answering his request by their presence, were saluted by 
being fired upon as they reached his house. It happened 
on this wise. His fears were so great, causing him to hear 
an enemy in every footstep, or the rustling of a leaf, that, 
supposing the knock at the door was that of some free- 
state man, he ran out of the back door, around the corner 
of the house, sliot the man who proved to be the friend he 
had sent for, and ran back again. 

Emily and I were sitting alone last evening, when loud 
shouts in the distance told of some new arrival. We 
opened the door, and looked out into the darkness. We 
could see nothing but the friendly lights, in the humble 
dwellings over the prairie, to the eastward, while they 
burned more brightly yet in the hall, and in the hotel, 
whose upper rooms are used for the committee and council 

10 



146 KANSAS. 

rooms. Though a half mile from town, and nearly a quar 
ter of a mile from neighbors, and those strangers, while 
the lights show that no one will be "caught napping," even 
at this late hour, we have no fears of danger. We feel 
sure the shouts were not those of invaders, as tlicir yells 
are most unearthly. Again in the distance, we heard the 
cheerful sounds go up to heaven, and reechoed among the 
hills. We know, instinctively, that it is the spontaneous 
burst of welcome to some new relief-compan}'. 

The guard come up ere long. They say to our queries 
of "What news?" "The 'Bloomington Boys' are in." 
"We've had a grand meeting." "We are going to protect 
ourselves." One laughingly says, "Protect ourselves from 
whom?" And after suggestions from the trio of young 
men, who have now been on guard four nights in this part 
of town, making our house headquarters, "that Shannon 
will not fight;" that "the Missourians will run at the first 
fire," and that "they, having been taught to believe the 
Yankees are cowards, will find their mistake;" that they are 
expecting to get land-warrants to pay them for their 
trouble in coming here, but may get an actual preemption 
claim six feet by two instead; we are all of our old opinion 
that there is really very little actual danger. They may 
take the trouble to come here, some coming hundreds 
of miles, with their threats, their whiskey and their old 
shot-guns, — giving them a right to the name with which 
our guard has christened them, "The Shot-gun Battalion," 
they may come with their music, in the shape of an old 
violin, and a rough, fierce-looking biped, to whom soap 
and a razor are unknown, clad in buckskin breeches, and 
red shirt; but the inspiration of the "Arkansas Traveler," 
among these half-drunken creatures, will never equal the 
"moral suasion," or the wholesome fear of a few Sharpes 
rifles. 

Our house was full last night, and of the capacity of our 
Kansas home our eastern friends have no idea. Doctor 
brought several strangers home with him at a very late hour. 



WAKARUSA WAR — PREPARATIONS. I47 

A Startling incident occurred last night. One of our 
picket guards was fired upon. Two of the guard were 
sitting together, when a party of Missourians approached 
and fired six shots at them. Our men had strict orders not 
to fire unless the emergency was desperate, and so bore the 
insult with remarkable prudence, and obe3'ed orders. 

Our people are acting strictly on the defensive, and these 
provocations are continually offered us to provoke a col- 
lision. They are endeavoring to draw them from the 
position which all the world will justify, that they may 
have a pretext for the destruction of Lawrence, which is 
really the whole cause of the invasion. 

A clergyman, Mr. Burgess, was with us last night. He 
had come in from a neighboring settlement, and has been 
a resident of Missouri twenty-seven years. He knows 
them well therefore; their cruel and desperate characters. 
With the few who came with him to Lawrence, he was 
attending a meeting some miles from home, but hearing 
that Lawrence was in imminent peril, without going to his 
home, or being sure that the word he sent his family would 
reach them, he put spurs to his horse and came to our 
relief. 

Another clergyman from Vermont, with others, came in 
to breakfast this morning. So the time has come again 
when men, whose vocation is to preach the word of truth, 
and to battle heroically in fierce struggles with error, have 
girded on another sword than that of the spirit; and if the 
victory is to be won by sharp fighting, while they '-pray 
and watch" they work, too— the working evincing the 
spirit of the prayer. 

The times seem strange! Ministers of the gospel of 
peace buckling on the armor which is to insure them phys- 
ical safety! Two thousand years have passed away since 
the angel-choirs rejoiced together, ushering in the glad 
news of a new gospel, and the tidings of good-will and 
peace reverberating over Judea's hills. When will men 
learn the lesson? With our defence strong and secure, 



148 KANSAS. 

made fully known to our foes, there will be no bloodshed. 
So we all feel, and things which seem warlike are in reality 
peace-bearing measures. 

Another event happened last night, which occasioned 
uneasiness, viz., the appearance of McCrea, an escaped 
prisoner, in our midst. His presence, were it known to 
the enemy, would be a new source of difficulty, and at once 
cause an outbreak, Few of the citizens knew he was here, 
and he is already on his way to a land of safety. 

How the blood boils in our veins, when we think of all 
the indignities imposed upon us by the slave power, by the 
infamous, the execrable corruption of the administration! 
No words can express the depth of infamy to which it has 
gone, in endeavoring to crush out on this soil, made sacred 
to freedom by a pledge inviolate, free speech, free action 
and free men. 

McCrea had been for months imprisoned in a close, ill- 
ventilated place. A bill was found against him for mur- 
der, but a change of venue was at last effected. These 
men, who saw themselves about to be foiled of their prey 
for which with unabated eagerness for six months they had 
hunted, had made preparations to take him from the jail 
and lynch him; when, foreseeing this, McCrea escaped. 
He came to this place, which has been regarded by all our 
friends as the Sevastopol of Kansas, expecting to find 
safety and repose. But we can offer none. The same 
power which sought his life so desperately, seeks ours with 
the same malignity. We abide the hour with patience, 
and feel sure that all the tears, the anxieties, the sleepless 
nights, and weary days, of the heart-stricken wife, now left 
in uncertainty as to her husband's fate, are all counted by 
Him, "who seeth the end from the beginning," and that 
they who have mingled this cup of bitterness will find their 
reward. 

Everything has been so quiet today, having no extra 
company, save some gentlemen to tea, that we forget we 
may be on the verge of a civil convulsion; that, ere another 



WAKARUSA WAR — PREPARATIONS. I49 

Sabbath sun arises, we may be homeless, aye, and friend- 
less, if our enemies perform a tithe of that they threaten. 

A friend. Col. Phillips, has sat here all day, quietly 
writing for the eastern press. He takes great interest in 
the success of the cause, and has several times been in the 
camp of the enemy, spying out the land. He has brought 
back interesting "notes of travel," and passed through 
some hair-breadth escapes. He has a genial, happ}/^ nature, 
peculiar to the Scotch, and, as he tells his adventures with 
a slight brogue, and a quick, rapid utterance, enlivened by 
his sense of the ridiculous, one cannot help feeling that he 
is surrounded by Gov. Shannon's half-tipsy military, or 
hears the sounds of music drawn out of a violin by some 
fierce disciple of Paganini, and sees the gaping crowds of 
men, armed with bowie-knives and pistols, nodding their 
admiration. 

Today was set for the attack, and the day has passed. 
The weather has become much cooler, and I fancy there 
are some in the camp who would be glad if they were home 
again, b}' a cheerful fire. The men in the camp are getting 
impatient, but very slowly are they reinforced in small 
numbers. They come with an apparent reluctance, but 
the offer of a dollar and a half a day and a land warrant is 
said to be the successful inducement to aid in this infamous 
invasion, and its author no less infamous. 



CHAPTER X. 



WAKARUSA WAR — INCIDENTS. 



Dec. j^/. — Last evening the governor's proclamation, 
issued on the 2gth, was received. It is one mass of false- 
hoods and mistatements, and an incendiary appeal to the 
bad passions of the border men to come in to assist him in 
our destruction. Jones goes to him with most malignant 
untruths of a rescue from his hands of the prisoner, by a 
band of forty men, etc. (It is now stated that Coleman 
was with the posse, and armed himself at Franklin with 
pistols and bowie-knives, to act with Jones' posse.) The 
rescue was ten miles from Lawrence. Two men in the 
rescue are all who have ever been citizens of Lawrence. 
Gov. Shannon, without the discretion which a man pos- 
sessing even a common share of sense would show, issued 
his bloody proclamation, which deserves no place in the 
archives of history, against the citizens of Lawrence. 

While no effort has been made to make a single arrest, 
he says they are in a state of rebellion against the laws, 
and utters fierce cries of "revolution," and "civil war." 
We would that we had a governor less imbecile and sense- 
less. 

On Saturday the immortal Jones came into town. While 
he sat upon his horse, bolt upright, looking defiant, his 
eyes wandered restlessly here and there, as if expecting 
some unseen enemy, and his hands trembled. Some boys, 
whose fun was brimming over, asked him if he were cold. 



WAKARUSA WAR INCIBETS. I5I 

His thin lips parted, and an abrupt "No" was uttered. 

"Then have you the chills?" asked they in a sympathetic 
tone. 

The same sound, and the same monosyllable, only a 
little more abrupt and stern, was issued. 

He evidently did not like the Yankee sympathy when 
such weighty matters were resting on his shoulders. But, 
being asked what he wanted in Lawrence, he replied, "I 
will let you know when I get ready." Then, putting spurs 
to his horse, he wheeled around, amid the laugh of the 
three or four frolicksome youths, and the blue coat of the 
Missourian was last seen going over the hill on the way to 
Lecompton. He had made, in his estimation, no doubt, a 
fearful escape from the stronghold of the rebels. 

Yesterday, the rumor of war being still rife, and so many 
citizens of the near settlements having come in, arrange- 
ments were made for the companies to go into barracks. 
The large dining-hall of the new hotel being fitted up with 
stoves, several of the companies will occupy it, while others 
have a "soldiers home" in the hall which has been used 
for school-room, church, etc. The quartermaster and 
commissarj'-general have been appointed. Beef and corn 
are brought in in large quantities, and preparations are 
being made for a siege. 

The soldiers are drilling out'on the prairie, and under 
the command of Col. Lane, who has seen actual service 
and hard fighting in Mexico. Their evolutions are well 
performed. As we look upon them, going through the drill 
soberly, without noise, and no rabble of boys following, we 
feel that, before yielding to the unjust e.xactions of a par- 
tisan government, they would meet death. 

There is 3'oung manhood in the ranks, and some who 
have not yet counted their score of .years; but the mantle 
of discretion and prudence has fallen upon them. The 
bloocf of '76 runs in their veins, and the fires of its un- 
quenched love of liberty sparkle in their eyes. 

We are yet in the hollow of His hand who "hates the 



152 KANSAS. 

oppressor," and "the crooked ways before us He will 
make straight." 

A Mr. Newell, of Vermont, is just in. He called to see 
doctor a few minutes since, and has now returned with him 
from the council-room, and will make our house his home. 
He brings news of our pleasant Scotch friend, who left us 
this morning on another tour/)f observation, in the enemy's 
camp. He met him at "Fish's," some two miles below the 
ford on the Wakarusa, of which the enemy have taken pos- 
session, having escaped from their hands. They recognized 
him as some one from Lawrence, he having been so fre- 
quently in their camp. They disarmed him at first; but 
on his threatening them with proceedings, they returned 
the pistol, and he is now on his wa}^ to report to Gov. 
Shannon the conduct of his militia. As they kept him a 
good while in camp, he learned much of their method of 
proceeding. Sentries are posted at all the fords on the 
Wakarusa, with strict orders to search and disarm every 
one attempting to pass. An old gentleman from Lawrence 
is a prisoner in their camp. They keep him bound. 

Mr. Phillips attempted to persuade Mr. Newell to go 
further up the river before attempting to cross, it being 
utter folly to try to get past them at that point; but, by a 
most skillful manoeuvre, he blinded the enemy in gallant 
style, and came through bearing important despatches. 

He has a very military' air about him, and, as he reined 
in his horse a moment, then dashing in among the rough 
outposts at the crossing, and, in a stern voice, said, "Why 
don't you demand the countersign?" they looked astonish- 
ed, and he passed through. They evidently supposed him 
to be an officer. Coming, as they have, from several differ- 
ent counties, the majority of the men and officers are 
strangers to each other. 

In the camp Mr. Newell gave the military salute, and 
commenced an easy off-hand talk with the men. Cne of 
the unshaven apologies for manhood asked, "Did you see 
many of our boys coming?" 



WAKARUSA WAR INCIDENTS. 153 

Mr. Newell replied, "No, I saw more returning;" as he 
in fact met fifty, whose faces were set homeward, their 
patience being wearied out with waiting for the gathering 
together of their sheriff's posse. 

The questioner, with downcast look, then said, "Then 
we may as well give it up; for the Lawrence boys will take 
us like mice." 

When some of the men very blandly asked if they should 
take care of his horse, his reply, that "he thought he 
would look around a little first," satisfied them, and he 
pursued his journey. X 

He soon reached the village of Franklin, where fifty or 
more of these men were loitering, and attending most 
assiduously upon some half a dozen groceries. It seemed 
at first a matter of some doubt whether he could pass them; 
but, with military salute, and gracefull}^ bowing, he went 
on unmolested, and reached us in safety. 

Another fact of some moment, learned today, is that, as 
the invaders pass the Shawnee Mission, they are all enroll- 
ed by the Governor. 

One's indignation would exceed every other feeling were 
it not for the wonder that any man can be guilty of such 
consummate folly! 

Spies from the enemj^'s camp are in Lawrence every day. 
They gain all the information the}^ can, which, I judge 
from the merriment of the guard, in talking over the visit 
of a spy, is not always so reliable as it might be. 

Dr. Wood has moved his family out of town. So, also, 
have other pro-slavery men. Dr. W6od is in the camp of 
the enemy. A young man. Will Lykins, who claims to be 
free-state, has repeatedly warned a lady of his acquaintance, 
Mrs. Saunders — a widow with small children — of the ap- 
proaching onset, and that no one in the town will be safe 
from indiscriminate slaughter. He begs of her to remove 
to a pro-slavery residence, a mile out, and there he will 
insure her safety. 

She sends her children to the proposed place of security 



154 KANSAS. 

to sleep; but, like a true woman, remains at home, to per- 
form those duties which the hour renders imperative. 

This youth, who, notwithstanding his protestations of 
being a free-state man, has had a wondrous fellow-feeling 
for the pro-slavery party, — opening his house for their 
storage of provisions at the time of the first invasion, — now 
complains of illness, and neither comes into town, nor goes 
down to the enemy's camp. Another man, a Mr. Cox, who 
has been strong in his expressions of sympathy with the 
free-state cause, is now a spy among us. He has hoisted 
upon his store a sign telling who he is, and asking that his 
property may not be destroyed. 

Our fair-weather friends are now obliged to show their 
true colors, and the certain knowledge of their treachery is 
worth much to a community situated as we are. Eighty 
men from Topeka have arrived. 

4th. — Early morning calls are all I see of the doctor now, 
as there is continually something in the council-room to 
demand attention, and last night they held a council of war 
to decide upon what further measures shall be taken for 
our defence. 

Forts and entrenchments are to be thrown up, under the 
direction of Col. Lane. Reports have come in of three 
hundred men between here and Westport, three hundred 
at the Wakarusa, some two hundred now crossing the 
Delaware Reserve towards Lawrence, — the Platte County 
Rifles being of the number,— making in all a force eight 
hundred strong for the destruction, the annihilation of 
Lawrence. 

Our guard are now fired upon nightly. Last night a 
bullet passed through the hat of one of the guard, instead 
of his head, for which it was doubtless intended. 

The chilly breath of the last few days has given place to 
the warm, baluiy airs of September. I watch the guard 
upon the hills, «nd stationed at different points in the 
prairies, foot guard as well as mounted. Some are stand- 
ing quietly, while the two hours of some others have expired 



WAKARUSA WAR INCIDENTS. 155 

and they are going through a rapid change of position. 
There are horsemen, also wagons, passing up over the 
Lecompton road, to reinforce the company at Lecompton, 
and swift riders are going in and out of town, while the 
iiag — the sign of invasion— floats over our house. This flag 
was run up days ago, and can be seen at a great distance. 

In the midst of my reveries arising from all this strange 
scene, the uncouth face of a Missourian presented itself, 
close by me, only the window between. That we looked 
at each other, I am sure, and from the looks of his physi- 
ognomy, and from a certainty as to the nature of my own 
feelings, I am equally sure neither of us were pleased. 
He, however, seemed strongly attracted towards the house, 
was only content after taking a general survey of three 
sides of it, and came a little nearer than any rules of pro- 
priety would allow. He passed on, at length, and seated 
himself in the tall grass on the top of the hill for half an 
hour. He was evidentl}' a spy, not upon us only, but the 
whole town. 

While we were at dinner, two other men, evidently in 
authority, rode out on the point of the hill, to take a survey 
of the town. They rode very slowly past the house, 
examining the whole premises, and looking backwards, 
until they reached the summit of the hill beyond. It 
looked like a silent threat, coming at the hour, too, when 
they supposed we would have company to dine, and the 
leaders of the defence. 

Just before noon one of the "staff," G. P. Lowery, (just 
appointed) came up, and, upon my opening the door, he 
said, "Good-morning, Mrs. Robinson; the doctor sent me 
after his horse;" and, as he vaulted into his saddle, with a 
ringing laugh he said, "Excuse me, Mrs. Robinson, I 
meant the general." 

So I suppose that the quiet doctor, who has always been 
remarked for the meekness of his bearing, is metamor- 
phosed into a general. He was appointed last evening. 
To the never-failing question, "Is there anything new?" he 



156 KANSAS. 

tells me "the men are anxious to form companies of rifle- 
men, and go down to Franklin;" that "with one round the 
Missourians would fly like frightened hares." "The people 
are getting impatient, and nothing but giving up their posi- 
tion, of acting strictly upon the defensive, keeps them from 
driving them out of the borders." 

Soldiers are on drill all the afternoon. A cavalry com- 
pany is also formed. There are about four hundred armed 
men in Lawrence now, and if there is a fight there will be 
terrible slaughter among the Missourians. This they know, 
and they are still waiting for reinforcements. What an 
unheard of sheriff's posse this will be! The companies 
have been firing at a mark set on the hill near us, and the 
rifle-balls went far beyond. 

^th. — More than a week has passed since an attack was 
threatened, and not one blow has been struck yet. I was 
awakened early this morning — about four o'clock — b}' a 
loud knocking at the door. It was quickly opened. Gen. 
Pomeroy and Col. Phillips' have had narrow escapes from 
the enemy, and an escape less fearful from a grave in the 
Kansas. They were dripping wet, and so chilled with the 
water and the keen air. that the stove heat did little good, 
and they soon tried a warm bed, leaving me to dry their 
clothes, papers, and money, which were all thoroughly 
soaked, 
y After Mr. Newell, who arrived here on Monday, left 
"Fish's," the brave Scotchman started for the mission, to 
bring his grievances before the governor. He was not at 
the mission, and, hearing he was at Westport, he followed 
on, went to the hotels, but could find him nowhere. He 
learned there, however, that Gov. Shannon had received 
instructions from Washington, authorizing his proceedings, 
and that many more are going to his aid from Westport; 
large numbers having already congregat^^d there from the 
border towns. He heard many of their plans thoroughly 
discussed, as he sat by. the substance of which seenied to 
be that there shall be a war, that the rescuers shall be 
delivered up, that all arms shall be given up, the leaders 



WAKARUSA WAR INCIDENTS. 157 

lynched, and the others driven from the country. He 
heard men high in authority say that "now was the time; 
the river was just about to close; no reinforcements could 
arrive for the free-state men; there were only some thirty- 
five hundred of them in the territory, and if they were not 
cut off now, they never could be; that slavery must and 
should go into Kansas; that they would have Kansas, 
though they have to wade to their knees in blood to get it; 
that they should fight, and let the Union go to the d — 1!" 
Judge Johnson, and a young man who recently came with 
him, had been arrested, and the threats were not few that 
they would be lynched in a few days. 

Learning that the governor had left Westport, our friend. 
Col. Phillips, pursued his journey towards Kansas City; 
and, when about half way there, was again arrested by a 
band of armed men. They said to his query, "By what 
authority am I a prisoner?" "By Gov. Shannon's orders." 
They seemed a little puzzled at his pertinent remark upon 
this information, "You forget, gentlemen, that we are in 
Missouri;" and, in the moment of wavering which followed, 
our friend hoped that the scales would turn in his favor, 
and he be allowed to go quietl}- on his way. But the fiat 
had gone forth. No one but a known pro-slavery man, or 
the territorial authorities, who are given over, with all their 
interests, ±0 the furthering of the nefarious schemes of 
Atchison and Stringfellow, can travel safely in the territory, 
or in Missouri. Our friend was conducted to a house a 
little way from the road, and, as he stood before the fire, 
hearing their expressions of glee at the capture of some 
prominent free-state men, and their threats of soon lynch- 
ing them, also ruminating upon his own chances of escape, 
he espied upon one of them a sige of membership of an 
Odd Fellow's lodge. He made to him the sign of distress, 
and, by the rules of the order, he was bound to protect 
him. This man at once interested himself. He said to 
the others, the examination of the prisoner must be private 
and he must make it. The rest of the ruffians agreed to it, 



158 KANSAS. 

and, in a room by themselves, he took the papers in his 
hand, which the prisoner gave him, then returned them, 
and said, "His life has been saved at his own peril." 

This examination was made somewhat superficially, and 
with apologies. The next morning, through the interposi- 
tion of this brother Odd Fellow, the prisoner was released, 
the Odd Fellow taking his hand at parting, and asked his 
pardon. He said, also, "Don't think hard of me, brother. 
I have done all I could. You were in danger, and I had 
two duties to perform. I am a member of another order, 
and am bound to act, and dare not refuse. Nor do I want 
to. 1 am a border ruffian, nor am I ashamed of it. We 
shall have Kansas — we won't be cheated out of it. When 
they passed the Kansas bill, the pledge to us was that the 
South should have Kansas, and the North Nebraska; but 
the d — d emigrant aid societies, and other abolitionists, 
expect to cheat us out of it. But they can't. We are 
going to have Kansas, if we wade to the knees in blood to 
get it." 

After reaching Kansas City, our friend, in company with 
Gen. Pomeroy, left for Lawrence. As it was impossible 
to go by Westport, they crossed the river about a mile 
from Kansas City, and came up the north side, thus 
being obliged to cross again at Lawrence. As they went 
into the ferry-boat, two men, whom the}' had seen hanging 
about the hotel at Kansas City, were sitting on the bank. 
On seeing them, they arose and hastily took the direction 
towards Kansas City. The evident plan was to go back to 
Westport, and there get a crowd to intercept them as they 
should pass through the Delaware Reserve. By taking the 
Indian trails, now one, and then another, they reached a 
friendly mission-house, Mr. Pratt's, where an Indian guide 
was furnished them. At about ten o'clock they left there 
for Lawrence, twenty-six miles lying between them and the 
end of their route. As noiselessly as possible they pursued 
their way through the woods and darkness. They moved 
on steadily as men would whose lives were in hourly peril 



WAKARUSA WAR — INCIDENTS. 159 

from the enemy seen and unseen. Our young friend, hav- 
ing already been twice in their hands, could have little to 
hope for on a third arrest. When within three miles of 
Lawrence, the}' came upon a camp-fire which had been 
recentl}' left, but saw no one. The Indian overheard them 
talking of forcing their way through the guard, should they 
come upon one, in preference to being taken into their 
camp, and refused to go further. Ever}' inducement offered 
was unavailing. So, without a guide, chilled with the 
keen night air, weary with the excitement and want of rest, 
they pressed on. 

Before this, however, the question of the ford at Law- 
rence had been discussed. Gen. Pomeroy had "never 
been over, but he thought he knew where it was." The 
young traveler "had seen people cross, and perhaps he 
could find it." And now the ford was reached. The ferr}'- 
man live# in Lawrence, the other side of the river. The 
enemy might be lurking behind any of these trees. It 
would not do to halloo for the boat, and the ford must be 
attempted on horseback. 

Gen. Pomeroy said to the very slenderly-built young man, 
who was mounted on a little Indian pony, "You go in 
first." He replied to the other, who rode a strong horse, 
and is himself of aldermanic proportions, "I do not know 
the ford. I have only seen people cross." 

But delays were dangerous, and the young man thought 
"itwould not be right to urge such an old man to encounter 
the dangers first," and gently urged his pony in. The 
channel was very deep, and the water swift. He was car- 
ried into the current, and was being borne rapidly down. 
He was swept out of the saddle, and held on by the pom- 
mel. He struggled long in the water, and for a few 
moments he thought "the Tribune would require another 
Kansas correspondent." At last, by extraordinary effort, 
he was again on terra firma, having for several moments 
only been able to keep his head above water. 

Gen. Pomeroy, in the mean time, went in a little way, 



l6o KANSAS. 

but seeing the desperate condition of his friend, returned 
to the shore. The young Scotchman said, in his facetious 
way, "I was so thoroughly chilled and exhausted then, I 
had as li^ve fall into the enemy's hands as die so, and we 
hallooed for the boat for half an hour." 

Word came this morning from Franklin that teams, 
loaded with freight for our merchants here, had been over- 
hauled at the camp on the Wakarusa. All powder and 
ammunition were taken from them, while the wagons, 
loaded wholly with apples, potatoes and flour, were stopped 
entirely, and not allowed to proceed. So they intend to 
starve us out, or make us surrender. 

The hot blood of some of our men chafes at these indig- 
nities, and they can hardl}^ be restrained from an attack 
upon the camp, leaving not one to tell the tale of these 
infamous invasion. 

A dispatch must be sent to Washington, and Gen. 
Pomeroy accepts the mission. He is to go through Iowa, 
and will leave this afternoon, but thinks he must go to 
Kansas City first. We attempted to dissuade him, know- 
ing the dangers of the route, which thicken every hour. 

Early in the afternoon he left for Kansas Cit}', going 
through the Reserve, to go thence to Iowa. 

Soon after he went, I called upon some new neighbors 
in the valley west of us. They are western people, and 
the lady especially has the western peculiarities of speech. 

She was sweeping the door-way as I approached the 
little log cabin; and, never having seen her, I said, "Good- 
afternoon. Is it Mrs. Dennis?" 

"Yes; come in," was the hearty reply. 

There was wealth of good-nature and a whole-souled 
welcome in the very manner of greeting. As I stepped in, 
I told her who I was; but, rather in doubt as to who I 
might be, she said, "Mrs. or Miss?" 

Although I replied Mrs., she looked still doubtful, and 
said, "Do you live in the house on the hill?" 

My reply being in the affirmative, and my identity being 



WAKARUSA WAR INCIDENTS. l6l 

distinctly understood, we sat down and talked of the war. 
In the mean time I noticed with how 'little room one can 
make comfort and find enjoyment. There were two 
beds, one double and the other single, looking so nicely 
with their white spreads and clean linen. There were 
table, stove and book-case, all in the same small room. 
There were white curtains at the one little window; and 
the room was really so small, that at meals they were 
obliged to sit down around the table before the leaves were 
spread, having ever3'thing placed on the middle of it. 

They say they would rather live in Iowa, where they 
came from. They do not like to live where there is so 
much disturbance, and, when the husband and father is 
from home, they are continually fearful least some evil has 
befallen him. 

He soon came in. He is a tall, blue-e3'ed man, of most 
prepossessing appearance, a native of Georgia, and has 
come to add his influence in the early settlement of this 
country, hoping to plant all the institutions of freedom. 
He said "he had looked with indescribable interest upon all 
the means taken for our defence, and though as a minister 
he could not bear arms, he still has faith in Cromwell's 
motto, 'Trust in God, and keep your powder dry.' " 

As we were talking of the war, i\Irs. Dennis said, with 
her clear, ringing voice, "What does your old man think 
of it?" 

I answered as well as I could, and am amused at this 
appellation, purely western, she has given m}' husband. 

The Alissourians threaten to kill all our men, and save 
the women for a more bitter fate; and the black flag, now 
waving over their camp, is eminently suggestive of their 
piratical designs, — plunder, blood and rapine. 

The evening was cold and dark, and chilly gusts of wind 
swept around the house, flapping the flag wildly, while the 
staff strikes against the roof. The wind creeps in too 
through the half-inch siding; and the stove continually 
cries "more wood." 

11 



l62 KANSAS. 

All this reminds us of chill}' days coming, and of the cold 
winds, and snow, against which the unplastered houses 
are a poor defense; and we realize that this invasion, let it 
end as it ma}', is not only a source of suffering in the 
present, but in the future will be the occasion of distress, 
to this persecuted people. Now is the time when they 
ought, and would be, preparing for winter. 

As we looked out into the chilly night, we saw the great 
fires blazing around the forts, and the men busily plying 
their shovels. Night and day, taking turns by fifties, with 
unabated ardor, the work goes on. There will be five 
strong forts commanding the river and all the entrances to 
the town. 

The men, as they work the hard-frozen earth, think of 
home, wife and little ones. Some are here, but some are 
far away, not dreaming of the dire evils which threaten the 
loved one. They think of their country and their God, and 
courage and the consciousness of doing well fill the heart, 
and strength nerves the arm. A tyranny less outrageous 
than this was overthrown by their fathers, and shall they 
falter when more precious rights are in peril? 

As the faithful timepiece says the night is fast waning 
towards its mid hour, -there is a welcome knock at the door, 
and, opening it, I find our Scotch friend is standing close 
to the door, with a long rifle by his side. I had tried to per- 
suade him not to go down town after so much excitement 
and weariness of the last two days and nights; but his 
enthusiasm in the cause will not let him rest, — besides, he 
is one of the general's aids, and has been attending the 
council of war held this evening. He says, "It is decided 
to send a messenger to Gov. Shannon, to ask him what is 
the meaning of this armed body of men quartered near our 
town; why he allows them to commit robberies upon our 
people and harass travelers, disarming them and taking 
them prisoners; requesting him also to order their removal." 
To my inquiries, Mr. Phillips said, "There is danger in 
the undertaking, but Lowrey and Babcock are going. 



WAKARUSA WAR INCIDENTS. 163 

The}' are acquainted with the governor, and they know the 
password." We hope they may get through without de- 
tention. 

After making beds upon the floor, and putting extra 
blankets on the lounge for any who may drop in for a nap 
before morning, replenishing the fire, I leave for my own 
room. And before sleeping, I wonder if we do indeed live 
in America, — the so-much boasted land, — or whether, in 
her prosperity, her love of power and aggrandizement has 
proved the grave of all honor, patriotism and love of free- 
dom. The question will arise, also, whether Gov. Shan- 
non's heart has become a stony heart, thus to bring a force 
against his own people. This has puzzled wiser brains 
than mine, and so I sleep, restlessly. I dream of a royal 
palace where there are men sitting. They are steeped in 
wine. There is revelry and confusion. They talk boldly 
of the evil deeds with which their lives are filled, and they 
swear they will fill up the measure of their wickedness. 
Thej'^ ask aid of one who seems to be in authorit)^; and with 
the brimming beaker he pledges them he will go with them 
heart and soul in their deeds of blood. What to him is his 
plighted honor to a great people, or what murdered inno- 
cence and the cries of heart-stricken widows and orphans, 
whose homes are made desolate by the strong arm of the 
oppressor? Naught to him are these; so he retains the 
seat in the royal palace which he has disgraced, and is the 
representative of the law he has rendered a sad mocker}'. 
But the wine-cup falls, his knees knock together, his glar- 
ing eyes are fixed, and on the wall are characters written 
in living colors, unseen by all save him; but the bony, 
bloodless hand— death's hand — writes, and the words burn 
his soul, "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." 

The dream is over, and with the waking comes a realiza- 
tion that the days of the tyrant will end, as surely as revo- 
lution is born of oppression; peace and quiet spring from 
the broken system of tyrann}', as surely as morning cometh 
from the night, and strength is born of sorrow. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE DEATH OE BARBER — THE I'REATY. 

Dec. 6th. — Thursday. We were awakened again, long 
before daylight. Some friends S. N. Wood, S. F. Tappan 
and S. C. Smith, have had a long journey from the country 
four miles above Topeka. They were not considered safe 
here, and had gone far away, but they heard that Lawrence 
had been attacked, doctor and fifteen others killed; and 
thinking that the war had fairly opened, they had walked 
thirty miles in the last few hours, that they might with 
their friends strike and die for liberty. Doctor's greeting 
could not have sounded pleasantly to them as they stood 
under our west window: "What are you here for? You 
nmst go directly out of town." There were strangers 
sleeping in the front of the house and they must not know 
that Wood, Smith and Tappan were in Lawrence. So they 
wearily turned away. They stayed a day in E. D. Ladd's 
cabin and Smith and Tappan went across the Wakarusa. 
Wood went to Ohio. 

The guard are again fired upon, and more of our messen- 
gers to different parts of the territory and to the states 
taken prisoners. Horsemen, in companies of four and six, 
are continually riding over the hills. They are the leading 
men in the ranks of the enemy; and we hear their design 
is to plant their artillery on Mt. Oread, and take this house 
for barracks. They seem to be looking around with the 
intention of concluding their plans. We feel perfectly safe 
so far as the planting of their artillery is concerned. Not 



THE DEATH OF BARBER — THE TREATY. 165 

one man could stand before the deadly fire of the Sharpe's 
rities, from the town or ravine. The Missourians are still 
slowly gathering in at Lecomptbn, and the camp near 
Franklin, and the new one on the Wakarusa, south of us, 
and only about four miles from town. Our supplies are 
cut off. People are turned from their homes at midnight, 
and their corn-cribs and hay-stacks burned. 

Some other gentlemen also dined with us. They were 
unexpected guests, nevertheless welcome. Just before 
dinner, we saw a large mounted party of the enemy's force 
going over the hill beyond us. We also saw two men on 
the west side of the hill, coming cautiously towards the 
house. It looked to us as though it were impossible for 
them to escape the observation of the eneni}', and we 
watched them anxiousl}', almost breathlessly, as the}' slowl}' 
wt-re nearing us. The horsemen, fortunately, instead of 
going on to the summit, kept a little under the eastern 
sU^pe, and, thank God! our friends were safe. The reason 
of their coming over was a simple one. They had been 
guilt}' of aiding in the rescue of an innocent man from a 
gang of desperadoes. A gang of men had been prowling 
about their house all the morning; not all in one body, but 
at different points, and in such a manner as to excite suspi- 
cinasof evil intended against them. Finally, this scouting 
band of the governor's militia all at once started in the 
direction of their head-quarters, and our friends immediatelj^ 
came over the hills, seeking a safer place. Our messengers 
fl\ back and forth to town, and upon serious consultation, 
it was decided that S. N. Wood shall go to the states for a 
little while. We send to his wife to come and see him, 
and for the first time I begin to feel that the horrors of war 
are opening upon us. Men, for doing an act of kindness, 
are hunted for their lives, and daily and nightly watching 
alone saves them from falling into the hands of the enemy. 
I go continually from one part of the house to the other, 
to see if any spies are about, and once fell into a laughable 
mistake. Having gone upstairs to have a long look out over 



l66 KANSAS. 

liill and prairie, I saw a woman upon the west side of the 
hill. I ran down and said to the gentlemen, "There is a 
Avoman coming to the house. Will you step into the dining- 
room and see if it is any one you would like to see; if not, 
you can go up stairs." They looked out, and one of them 
said, "Why, that's Mrs. Wood, my wife." 

I laughed as heartily as they, but did not diminish my 
watchfulness, because once I was "more scared than hurt." 
The men were at work on a part of the forts, while some 
were complete; entrenchments were being thrown up on 
each side of Massachusetts street; the soldiers were drilling 
through the center of the broad street; ladies were standing 
in the doorways looking on; while little boys, .having 
caught the general spirit of a resort to arms, were marching 
about in martial array, with feathers in their paper cocked- 
hats and imitation guns. 

D. R. Atchison, with twenty-five men, was said to be 
crossing the Reserve, towards the camp on the Wakarusa. 
The men were anxious to go out, and bring him in a pris- 
oner, but the general was firm. "We are acting only on 
the defensive." 

The howitzer has just arrived, and several men are 
guarding it in one of the lower rooms. Some ladies go in 
to look at the grape and bomb-shells. 

It is rumored that Mr. Phillips has been taken prisoner by 
the Missourians, and taken into their camp, on the Waka- 
rusa. The indignation of the people is increasing in 
intensity, and their forbearance growing less. The twelve- 
pound brass howitzer was brought in by a manoeuvre 
evincing tact and skill, as well as bravery. The council, 
having heard of its arrival at Kansas City, decided if 
possible it must be brought up, and three or four of our 
citizens, willing to encounter the danger, offered their 
services for the undertaking. They found the boxes in 
which it was packed, at the warehouse, consigned to one 
of our merchants. The proprietor of the warehouse sug- 
gested there might be rifles in them, and, to quiet all suspi- 



THE DEATH OF BARBER — THE TREATY. 167 

cion, I\Ir. Buffum, with an axe, raised a board from the 
largest box, saj'ing, "Let's see what there is." 

As they looked in, and saw only wheels, he said, ''It's 
only another of Hutchinson's carriages." 

Everything was satisfactory. The board was renailed. 
The boxes were loaded in the wagons, with mattresses and 
other furniture on the top, and they left Kansas City by 
the ferry route across the Kansas river. The wagons 
getting set as they went up the steep bank on the opposite 
side of the river, Mr. Buffum called upon a band of 
Missourians, standing by, "to give them a lift at the wheels," 
which they did, and without difificulty they reached Law- 
rence, where they were received with loud acclamations by 
the citizens. The little besieged town received it with 
good cheer, hope and courage. 

Mrs. Wood, whose husband has ever been most active 
in the free-state cause, and for whom the enemy feel no 
little bitterness, has offered her little "shake" cabin, next 
the hotel, for the general use. Daily and nightly the ladies 
meet there, in the one room, with its loose, open fioor, 
through which the wind creeps, to make cartridges, their 
nimble fingers keeping time with each heart-beat for free- 
dom, so enthusiastic are they in aiding the defence. 

At evening Mr. Phillips, the young Scotchman, with his 
constant companion, the long rifle, came in. He looked 
sedate, as, seating himself on the lounge, he said, "The 
war has commenced. They have shot a man about five 
miles from here." 

"Who?" and "Is he dead?" were the questions which 
followed in quick succession. 

"A Mr. Barber, one of the men who came in to our 
assistance from Bloomington. He died almost instantly. 
It is said Dr. Wood was in the crowd that shot him." 

He said besides, "It is almost impossible to restrain the 
men to-night. Their imprecations of vengeance are loud and 
deep, and the general has something to do to restrain his 
own feelings. A guard have gone out to bring in the body." 



1 68 KANSAS. 

The plot thickens. Our men are shot down in the broad 
sunlight by this ruffianly horde. Can the governor say, 
"My soul is clear of ni}' brother's blood?" The messengers 
sent to him have returned, and they come with a promise 
from him that h.e will be here tomorrow. The governor 
sent a long letter to General Richardson and others in 
command. It is very indefinite and non-committal, and 
evinced some tact in the author, to write so much, and yet 
say so little to any purpose. Upon one point alone was it 
clear; that is, the enforcement of the laws. In his conver- 
sation he was a little more definite. He said ]ie was unable 
to restrain the men, his militia, though he had repeatedly 
commanded them to preserve order. He wa.= endeavoring 
also to shake off the responsibility of this Missouri mob, 
but the following pass, given to a gentleman who dined 
with us today, will show he has some connection with it: 

"Mr. Jones, Sheriff, or any other in command. Mr. Win- 
chell is going, on business of his own, to Lawrence; please 
pass him without detention or molestation. 

"Wilson Shannon." 

Col. Lane has received a small limb of a tree, with a 
bullet in it, and hemp bound round it, fronythe enemy's 
camp, with the compliments of Col. Burnes, of Missouri. 
Dr. Wood was in company with Burnes at the time it was 
sent. 

////. — The murdered man was brought into town last 
night, and in his usual dress, laid upon a table in the hotel. 
His look was one of perfect repose, with the pallor of the 
death sleep. The circumstances of his death show more 
clearly than anything which has previously transpired, the 
malignity, the utter heartlessness of the foe with whom we 
haVe to deal. This certainly convinces us that no nierc)' 
will be shown any who fall into their hands. 

Mr. Barber hearing that the lives of the people of Law- 
rence were in peril, had come, with others in his neighbor- 
hood, to lend his aid in making good our defence. Yesterday 
he mounted his horse, and bidding his comrades "Good- 



THE DEATH OF BARKER — THE 'IREATY. 1 6g 

b_v, " sa3'ing he "would be back in the morning," wholly 
unarnied, started for his Tiome. Doubtless as he sped over 
the prairies on his way, he thought of the glad surprise his 
coming would give his wife after this few days' absence, and 
with whom, on leaving for Lawrence the bitterness of the 
parting, her unwillingness for him to go, seemed but a fore- 
shadowing of his sad fate. A little after he had left the main 
road, with his two friends who accompanied him, two horse- 
men rode out from a company of twelve on the California 
road. Dr. Wood being one of them. They told him to go with 
them. In reply to their several questions he said, he "had 
been to Lawrence, was unarmed, and was going to his 
home;" and, putting spurs to his horse, rode on; but th« 
deadly bullet of the foul creature, the tool of the adminis- 
tration, entered his back, and, saying, "O God! I am a 
murdered man!" he never spoke again. 

The home to which he hastened he never reached, but 
Ijis spirit is an avenging witness before the Higher Court 
where all these deeds of blood^are held in remembrance. 

General George W. Clarke, the Indian Agent, went on 
his way to meet Governor Shannon at the Wakarusa head- 
quarters, and there declared with horrid oaths, "I have 
sent another of these d — d abolitionists to his w^inter- 
quarters. " 

The feeling that her husband would be murdered had 
haunted the timid wife, but friends kept this dread knowl- 
edge from her until this morning. 

Words can never convey the mingling emotions which 
moved the crowd, or the heart-crushing agony of the young 
wife. There were no children in the household, and all 
the affections had twined around this one idol. All of life, 
all of happiness, were centered in him; and to be bereaved 
thus, was adding bitterness to the agony. It seemed as 
though her heart must break, and, in her distress and shrieks, 
the brave, strong-hearted men mingled tears and muttered 
imprecations of vengeance upon the murderers, and upon 
him who had brought these murderers into our midst. 



170 KANSAS. 

The hour approached for the arrival of the governor, who 
is coming to treat of peace. Already he was coming over 
the prairie with his suite. The carriage was a covered 
double-seated one, in which he occupies the back seat. 
With horsemen riding front and in the rear, the cavalcade 
moved on. In front of the hotel, lines of citizen soldiery 
were drawn out, and they knew there was a prospect of 
a settlement of these difficulties without further blood- 
shed. Can these men, whose murdered comrade now 
lies within these walls, make peace and he be unavenged? 
Their feelings revolt at such a proposal; but the magna- 
nimity of their leaders, who propose pacification, calms the 
troubled waters, and they realize that peace is better than 
war, though the hot blood, crying revenge, still chafes. 
The carriage passed in through the soldiery to the door, 
and Gen. Robinson and the governor went through the 
halls, and up the unfinished stairway to the council- 
chamber. 

As the eyes of the governor fell on the rigid limbs, and 
the death-pallor of the young man, who yesterday was so 
full of life, hope and strength, he gave a perceptible shrug 
of his shoulders. The governor's suite also, entered, and 
as they passed the silent dead, Col. Boone, of Westport, 
said, "I did not expect such a thing as this." What else 
could they expect from the barbarous men gathered here 
by their murderous appeals? 

They. were introduced to the Committee of Safety in the 
large reception-room. Then the governor and Col. Boone, 
on the part of the invaders, and Gen. Robinson and Col. 
Lane, on the part of the citizens, held a private session in 
the council-chamber. They talked over the whole matter. 
The governor asked that the arms be delivered up. He 
was soon satisfied, howev^ that such conditions of peace 
would never be complied with, and said at last that such a 
demand was unreasonable. The papers which are to be 
signed will be made out to-niglit, and signed by both 
parties on the morrow. 



THE DEATH OF BARBER — THE TREATV. Ijl 

Tlie governor sent for troops from the fort this niornhig 
at three o'clock. He wants to gain time, and delay signing 
the papers, as he said that "he could not control the force 
he has brought against us." "If they knew a treaty had 
been made, they would at once raise the black flag, and 
march against the town." So, as he is hoping Col. Sumner 
will send his troops for the defence of Lawrence, this delay 
is made. When our citizens sent to him days ago for aid, 
be refused, because he had no orders from the President; 
ind the question is, will he come now? 

About three o'clock the governor and suite, consisting of 
^ol. Boone, of Westport, Col. Kearney, of Independence, 
ind Col. Strickland,' also of Missouri, with Col. Lane, 
lined with us. 

The governor is a gray-haired man, tall and well-propor- 
;ioned. He has coarse features and a hard-looking face, 
generally. Nature must bear part of the blame, but the 
veather and bad whiskey, doubtless, come in for a share, 
rlowever, mild eyes and a good heighthof forehead show that 
laturally he is not a cruel man; but his head lacks firmness, 
is we speak phrenologically, and his course here, as well 
IS elsewhere, is evidence that he is vacillating, weak, ill- 
;uited to be the leader of other men; that he is credulous, 
ind easily made a tool in the hands of base men; that in 
)rief he is the exponent of the purposes and actions o{ the 
lien, or party, with whom he is most thrown in contact. 

Crowds of horsemen were passing over and down the hill. 
)ome of them were our mounted guard; others were from 
he camps of the invaders. The enemy have now nearly 
urrounded us. The camp on the Wakarusa, just south of 
^awrence, cuts off connection with the southern settle- 
nents. There are strolling bands of men all through the 
)elaware Reserve, while quite a body of them are camped 
1 the woods just opposite the town, preventing people 
lassing to and from Leavenworth, and other colonies 
orth. They still have camps at Lecompton, and below 
"ranklin. 



172 KANSAS. 

Yesterday, Mrs. S. N. Wood and Mrs. G. W. Brown 
went out six miles be_vond the Wakarusa, and brought in 
two kegs of powder. The guard of the invaders halted 
them, but apologized by saying, "I thought you were 
gentlemen." 

Some of the enemy entered the house of Judge Wakefield, 
six miles from Lawrence. They ransacked it; and, going 
into the chambers, fired through the floor, the ball passing 
directh' by the head of a sick lad}', who was lying on a bed 
in the lower room. They have committed depredations 
upon the property of the Indians, at which they feel out- 
raged. They are constantly taking prisoners any people 
from other settlements, coming to our aid, unless in large 
numbers; and we feel constant anxiety for our messengers 
who have been out some time. 

Coleman, the murderer, fired into our guard; the fire was 
returned, the ball taking effect in the mule he was riding. 
It died soon after reaching Franklin. Had the guard 
known the man, he would have escaped less easily. 

Gov. Shannon was in town again to-day. Col. Sumner 
declined to send any force, because he cannot act without 
orders from the President. The treaty was made with the 
people. The governor made a speech to the soldiers, 
telling them he has been laboring under a mistake; that if 
there were Missourians here they came of their own accord; 
that he had called upon none but the people of the terri- 
tory. They would now disperse. He believed the people 
of Lawrence were a law-abiding people; indeed, he had 
learned that he had misunderstood them, and that they 
were an estimable and orderly people. He was glad to 
find there was no occasion for an attack upon the town, 
and no laws had been violated, etc. Cheers were attempted, 
but the muffled sound was little like the spontaneous, out- 
gushing gladness of a satisfied people. There was yet a 
suspicion among them that the terms of peace had been 
too easily entered into; that something of their rights had 
been conceded by their leaders. The officers in command 



THE DEATH OF BARBER — THE TREATY. I 73 

also made addresses, which more heartih' called forth the 
expression of the people; and, with the governor, G«nerals 
Robinson and Lane went down to Franklin to meet the 
officers in the invading army. The governor had desired 
them to do so, because many of the leaders in his army 
were determined upon the guns being delivered up, and he 
wished some other convincing arguments than his own to 
be used with them. 

The night was exceedingly tempestuous. The wind 
raged with unequalled fury, and was full of driving snow 
and sleet. All of the afternoon it had been so strong and 
furious, that boards, ten or twelve feet long, lying in a pile 
back of the house, had been blown, end over end, in every 
direction. But the night had added violence to the storm, 
and scarcely anything could make headway against, or live 
long out in it. Our Scotch friend, Mr. Phillips, had just 
come in with ears almost frozen. 

We pity the guard who faithfully watch for our safety in 
such a wild night as this. The password for the night, 
"Pitch in," given by our gallant Adjutant-General Deitzler, 
who has command in the temporary absence of General 
Robinson, was in strange consonance with the wildness of 
the terrific storm. A double guard was put on, that each 
man might be oftener relieved from the watch, and to be 
in better readiness for any attack, which many fear. The 
anxiety felt for the safe return of the officers from Franklin 
was intense, so little faith have our people in the honor or 
the plighted word of the invaders. 

At Franklin Generals Robinson and Lane met thirteen 
captains of the invaders in a little room. The governor 
made a long statement of the existing state of things. He 
told them that a misunderstanding had occurred; that the 
people of Lawrence had violated no law; that they would 
not resist any properly appointed officer in the execution 
of the laws; that the guns would not be given up; and con- 
cluded by advising them to go home to Missouri. 

An escort had been promised Generals Robinson and 



174 KANSAS. 

Lane back to Lawrence: and when, at about seven o'clock, 
they left for home, one man only w'as provided to go with 
them. After going about one hundred yards, he too bade 
them "Good evening," and wheeled his horse, leaving 
them in the enem3''s country, without escort to pass the 
picket-guard. In this Egyptian darkness, the wind and 
sleet driving, and effectuall}^ blinding their eyes, they 
trusted to their horses to keep their way homeward, know- 
ing they were in the road onl}' by the sound of their hoofs 
upon the frozen earth. But safely, though once General 
Robinson's horse fell under him, without injury to himself 
or it, they reached Lawrence. Later in the night word 
came in that a part}' of the rufSans had taken possession of 
a house a mile or two from town, driving Mr. Harpell's fam- 
ily out in the storm. General Deitzler went out to bring 
them in. The three prisoners were armed with a large 
number of deadlj' weapons, and were almost frozen. Their 
plea for going to the house was that they had lost their 
way. Suspicion was strong against them, from all the 
circumstances, that they left Franklin with the design of 
assassinating Generals Robinson and Lane, but were unable 
to keep the road, and very trul}' may have lost their wa}'. 

gtli. — The governor having ordered his men to disperse, 
many did so, while many other turbulent spirits, who 
had been dragged out of Missouri by their cupidity, by 
much persuasion, and by being told that now was the time, 
if ever, for the extermination of the Yankees, made loud 
complaints, and were determined upon a fight. Their 
anger towards the governor was also expressed loudly at 
this peaceful termination of the raid. With the terrible 
discomfort of the last night in camp, man}- of the men 
having no tents, with the failure of the whiskey, there arose 
a general dissatisfaction. 

They carried home to Missouri three dead bodies — one 
killed by the falling of a tree, one shot by the guard acci- 
dentally, and one killed in some sort of a quarrel. One of 
Kansas' best citizens had lost his life, and much property 



THE DEATH OF BARBER — THE TREATY. I 75 

been destroyed, all from a "misunderstanding." The fol- 
lowing are the articles of negotiation and adjustment. 

"Whereas there is a misunderstanding between the 
people of Kansas, or a portion of them, and the governor 
thereof, arising out of the rescue, near Hickor}' point, of a 
citizen under arrest, and some other matters; and whereas 
a strong apprehension exists that said misunderstanding 
may lead to civil strife and bloodshed; and whereas it is 
desired, by both Governor Shannon and the people of 
Lawrence and vicinity, to avert a calamity so disastrous to 
the interests of the territory and the Union, and to place 
all parties in a correct position before the world, — 

"Now, therefore, it is agreed b}' the said Governor Shan- 
non, and the undersigned people of Lawrence, that the 
matter in dispute be settled as follows, to wit: 

"We, the said citizens of said territory, protest that the 
said rescue was made without our knowledge or consent, 
but, if any of our citizens were engaged, we pledge our- 
selves to aid in the execution of any legal process against 
them: that we have no knowledge of the previous, present, 
or prospective existence of any organization in the said ter- 
ritor}' for the resistance of the laws, and that we have not 
designed, and do not design, to resist the legal service of 
any criminal process therein, but pledge ourselves to aid in 
the execution of the laws, when called on by proper au- 
thority, in the town or vicinity of Lawrence, and that we 
will use all our influence in preserving order therein: and 
we declare that we are now, as we ever have been, ready 
at an}- time to aid the governor in securing a posse for the 
execution of such process: provided, that any person thus 
arrested in Lawrence or vicinity, while a foreign force shall 
remain in the territory, shall be duly examined before a 
United States district judge of said territory in said town, 
and admitted to bail; and provided, further, that Governor 
Shannon agrees to use his influence to secure to the citi- 
zens of Kansas Territory remuneration for any damages 



176 KANSAS. 

sustained, or unlawful depredations, if any such have been 
committed by a sheriff's posse in Douglas county; and, 
further, that Governor Shannon states that he has not 
called upon persons residents of any other state to aid in 
the execution of the laws, and such as are here in this ter- 
ritory are here of their own choice; and that he has not 
any authority or legal power to do so, nor will he exercise 
any such power, and that he will not call on any citizen of 
another state who may be here. That we wish it under- 
stood that we do not herein express any opinion as to the 
validity of the enactments of the Territorial Legislature. 
"(Signed), "Wilson Shannon, 

"C. Robinson, 
"J. H. Lane." 

The prisoners on both sides were released. Several who 
had been in the camp of the enemy were in town today. 
In times of war there are no Sabbaths, and we had no 
service today. The governor, with Jones and General 
Strickler, came in this morning. 

A dinner was provided for them at the Cincinnati Houst-; 
and, in a private room, some who are not averse, either b\ 
nature or principle, to a social glass, had provided such 
entertainment for the governor. Every one cohnng in, 
who ever thus degraded his higher nature, "must drink 
with the governor." At each glass which lie drank he said, 
"Now here's to the Baptist preacher." 

When the dinner was ready, and the blessing about to be 
implored, the governor broke out in this new strain: "This 
is the happiest day of my life, by G — dl" 

The story of the Baptist preacher is simph' this: When 
Mr. Pomeroy left Lawrence for Kansas City, some men, 
watching him in Lawrence, immediately notified the camp 
at Franklin, and a company of men forthwith was sent out 
to intercept him. Having nearly reached the Baptist Mis- 
sion, John Pratt's party came up, and asked where he was 
going. 



THE DEATH OF UARBER — THE TREATY. I 77 

He said briefly, "To our mission;"' and at once the party 
gave him the soubriquet of "the Baptist preacher." One 
of the party, however, quite unfortunately as it regarded 
his further progress towards ''our mission," recognized 
him. He was taken by them across the river again; and 
wet and cold, without fire, he slept in their camp on the 
Wakarusa. Threats ran high against him; and his peril 
became so imminent, that, when his guard had fallen asleep, 
Atchison, to whom the ruffians had given the euphonious 
title of "Old Dave," took him to Blue Jacket's, an Indian 
house, where some of the officers had their headquarters. 

Atchison has declared to the rough men who follow him, 
"that they cannot fight now. The position the Lawrence 
people have taken is such that it would not do to make an 
attack upon them; it would ruin the democratic cause too. 
But, boys, we'll fight some time, by G — d!" 

Mr. Redpath, a young Englishman, came in from Leav- 
enworth, and in his facetious way, which makes the most 
common thing replete with interest and life, and turns the 
dull and serious into fun and gayety, told the story of his 
departure from Leavenworth, in company with four or five 
others, to come to Lawrence; how the}^ were intercepted, 
and at last taken prisoners, and only released this morning. 

My husband had not now been home for several days, 
save to dine on Friday. Towards evening he sent a car- 
riage, and a request that I should come down town. So, 
quickly donning heav}' English shawl and furs, we were 
soon there. I sat in the carriage while a messenger notified 
him of my arrival. He returned, bringing the*word, "The 
general says, 'Come up to the council-chamber;' " and, 
under his escort, I passed through a file of soldiers guard- 
ing the door, also through halls similarly guarded, and up 
the rough staircases, until 1 reached the further end of the 
third- story, where, upon a slight knock, the door was 
opened, and, with ceremony, I was ushered into the pres- 
ence of, and introduced to, Gen. Robinson. This being 
through with, I noticed several ladies, friends and ac- 

13 



lyS KANSAS. 

quaintances, sitting by; and, when a few more were 
gathered together, we were informed by the general that 
"the war is over; the hatchet is buried; that the late enemy 
have expressed a desire to cultivate a conciliatory and 
friendly spirit with their neighbors in Lawrence; that it is 
better to bridge over past differences by the kindly, pleas- 
ant offices of good-will and friendship. As a token of our 
willingness to accept and give any pledges of our good 
offices in the future, we will tomorrow invite Gov. Shannon, 
and any of his friends from Missouri who will remain, to a 
social gathering." The ladies were also informed that to 
them they would look for the necessary' refreshments for 
the evening. 

How New England's high-toned propriety would be 
shocked at the idea of "getting up" a party on so short 
notice, and some seven or eight hundred guests expected! 
What would occupy a month's time there, and any amount 
of unnecessary words, is done here equally as well in an 
eighth part of the time, with a greater amount of pleasure 
coming to all. 

Another reason for the meeting of the morrow's evening 
is that Gov. Shannon might see that the people neither 
have the look of "paupers" nor "rebels." The ladies 
found time amid the arrangements to speak to the gover- 
nor, who sat by, an occasional word; and to one and all he 
was free to say, "This is the happiest day of my life." He 
stated also, "that he liked the people of Lawrence so well, 
he should come to live among them." Had the people 
undergone a'Budden transformation? 

A rumor came in during the evening from the invading 
horde still lingering in the borders, and reached the watch- 
ful ear of the governor. "His militia" were so indignant 
with him for the truce, that they threatened him with 
lynching, and an immediate attack upon Lawrence. -He 
is fearful, and lacks the boldness of a man who has done 
his duty. Lynching is rather an unpleasant mode of mak- 
ing one's exit, and especially undignified to a person hold- 



THE DEATH OF BARBER — THE TREATY. Ijg 

ing the honorable office of governor. Such a terminus to 
his career must be avoided. A simple remedy is at hand, 
and the fluttering heart says "Save me from my friends." 
Feeling doubtless like the man who "digged a pit for his 
enemies, but into it he fell," he signed the commission of 
Generals Robinson and Lane, authorizing them to vise the 
force under them, a properly constituted militia, and make 
good their defence. 

The following is the document in question: 

"To Charles Robinson and J. H. Lane: You are hereby 
authorized and directed to take such measures, and use the 
enrolled forces under your command in such manner, for 
the preservation of the peace and the protection of the 
persons and property of the people of Lawrence and vicin- 
ity, as in your judgment shall best secure that end. 

"(Signed), Wilson Shannon. 

''Laxvrencc, Dec. gt/i, i8jj." 

Col. Lane had been anxious to take the offensive against 
Federal'' authority. One night he was reported at head- 
quarters as being about to start to attack the militia with 
one hundred men, and was alone prevented from doing so 
b}' threats of arrest. He also tried to procure the killing 
of Jones at the peace party. 

Old John Brown, with his motley crew of boys — his 
sons — armed with javelins and cutlasses, — the one poor 
horse drawing the old wagon with the pikes set up around 
the edges, had arrived in Lawrence on December 3. The 
measures taken for a peaceful settlement of our difficulties 
were far from pleasing to him. The threatened arrest, 
should he continue to excite the rabble, did not calm the 
turbulence of his desires, and quite soon thereafter Judge 
Smith felt compelled to pull him down from his perch, a 
large dry goods box, and put an end to his wild harangue. 

10///. — The early morning finds us busy in the culinary 
department. The making of seven loaves of bread and five 
of cake, with other necessary work, leaves only a few stray 



l8o KANSAS. 

moments in which to finish a letter, which is to be a mes- 
senger of good tidings to friends far away under the home- 
roof, whose nights on our account have been sleepless and 
days filled with suspense. It is already three and a half 
o'clock, and the ladies were to meet at four o'clock. So 
pressing into the service, as bearers of burdens, two 3'oung 
men, who called opportunely, I went down, and was soon 
astonished by the huge baskets of provisions which were 
provided. Had the Missourians looked in upon the well- 
filled tables prepared on so brief notice, they would have 
given up the idea of starving us to terms; and had New 
England added her presence among the welcome guests, 
with her w^U-filled pockets and stocks in trade, she would 
have realized that, in the large open-heartedness and free- 
dom from conventionalities of her frontier children, there 
is much of the real, true enjoyment of life. 

During the speeches of the earl}^ part of the evening 
many of the ladies stood upon tables ranged around the 
walls, and their position even there was one of compact- 
ness. The incidents of the last few weeks were recalled, 
and those of the war recited. The bringing in of the 
cannon through the enemy's country, and of the powder by 
the ladies, had honorable mention. A "compromise meas- 
ure" also afforded a good deal of merriment. The first 
week of the invasion. Dr. James Davis, of Leavenworth, 
heard at Lecompton that it was the governor's plan to 
demand that the arms of the people of Lawrence should 
be delivered up. Upon this gentleman's return to Law- 
rence, he asked Gen. Robinson what answer he would 
make to such a demand. 

His reply was brief: "I would propose a compromise 
measure; keep the rifles, and give them the contents." 

Gov. Shannon did not stay to the "party." When the 
morning came he found his business required his attention 
at the mission, and he went on his way. But "Sheriff 
Jones" was there, and there were some there beside who 
did not cherish that spirit of forgiveness and conciliation. 



THE DEATH OF BARBER — THE TREATY. ibl 

which makes man magnanimous in the treatment of an 
enemy; and the general's party at one time came near 
proving anything but a "peace party." There was a spirit 
there full of ambition, and a desire for office. And while 
the murder of young Barber was fresh in the minds of his 
friends; while the voice of poor, weak human nature would 
say revenge if the right chord was touched; and while 
"Sheriff Jones," an officer of the territorial courts, was an 
invited guest of Gen. Robinson, and political capital could 
be made; with what wonderful ingeniousness it wrought to 
keep alive this spirit of revenge in their breasts' The 
object was evident to all, and the indignation of many was 
hardly kept within bounds. The event, however, proved 
but another instance of the evil, which was intended for 
another, recoiling upon one's own head. 

After this unpropitious opening of the evening, we had 
music and social pleasant converse with many friends we 
seldom meet. 

Dr. Cutter, a young Kentuckian, one of the released 
prisoners, was here last night. He was in the enemy's 
camp at Lecompton. After a sickness of several weeks at 
Topeka, and a week or so of feebleness at our house, he 
left on Tuesday the 27th for his home at Doniphan. On 
his way thither he was attacked by the mob, disarmed and 
brought back some sixty miles. Being brought to the 
camp th.e other prisoner, Mr. W. , also being with him, 
they were given in charge to "Sheriff Jones." Weak as 
Dr. Cutter was from his recent illness, the fever still lurk- 
ing in his veins, he was carried this long distance, then 
placed in a cold and very open room which was used as a 
liquor store. Beside all the noise and confusion usually 
attendant upon such resorts, Jones and others came in at 
night and "played poker at twent3'-five cents ante." The 
room was 60 filled with men that he was obliged to sit up 
all night. There was constant talk of hanging, and most 
bitter threats used. Jones did not hesitate to tell Mr. 
W., in regard to a certain matter, that he must "tell or 



l82 KANSAS. 

swing." Kelly, of the Squatter Sovereign, told him he 
thirsted for blood, and should like to see him hung on the 
first tree. 

Dr. Cutter was very weak, and had now become delirious 
from the intense excitement and fatigue. Dr. Stringfellow 
and one or two other physicians were in attendance all 
night. One of the guard reasoned with Jones upon his 
treatment of the prisoners, until he desisted. 

Other prisoners were similarly treated. One old man, 
whose years ^mong civilization would have been a guaranty 
against insult, was treated with like cruelty. The rope 
with which they threatened to hang him was repeatedly 
shown him; but, heedless of their threats, and above the 
raging of the storm, which gave fair promise of leaving the 
hangman without any upon whom to exercise his office, his 
voice was heard, "Send it a little colder, O Lord!" 

And amid the fearful oaths and unceasing threats of evil, 
there was the same. earnest plea: " O Lord, send it a little 
colder." 

i2iJi. — The different companies were drawn out in lines 
yesterday, and farewell addresses were made them by their 
officers. The Lawrence companies then escorted those 
from the other settlements a little way out of town. 

The war is over for the present. Yet we cannot hope 
for any permanent peace until the strong arm of an execu- 
tive, who will not disgrace his office, be interposed for the 
protection of the settlers, who in good faith came to make 
homes, rebuilding the old landmarks so ruthlessly torn down 
by the corruption of men in power. 

So long as the excitable, brutal men along the borders 
are wrought upon by every incentive which can influence 
them, by such men as Atchison and Stringfellow, so long 
are we exposed to murder, rapine and pillage, at their 
hands. The sheriff in this invasion was prime inover, and 
upon him rests the chief guilt. At Lecompton, soon after 
the peace, he declared, "Major Clark and Burnes both 
claim the honor of killing that d — d abolitionist, and I 



THE DEATH OF BARBER — THE TREATY. 183' 

don't know which ought to have it. If Shannon hadn't 
been a d — d old fool, that peace would never have been 
declared. He would have wiped Lawrence out. He had 
men and means enough to do it." "Nothing could illustrate 
better the bitterness and treachery of his character, when he 
accepts the invitation, and makes one of the 'peace party' 
in Lawrence." 

At Douglas, Stringfellow informed his motley gang 
that "the thing is settled;" that 'they are sold;" that 
"Shannon has turned traitor;" "he has disgraced himself 
and the whole pro-slavery party." 

By the misrepresentations of Jones, Gov. Shannon 
brought this force from a neighboring state, against a 
peaceable community. He saw his error and entered into 
a treat3^ Who ever before heard of a governor entering 
into a treaty with the citizens over whom his own jurisdic- 
tion extends, having in view their obedience to the laws? 
This treat}' states, moreover, that Gov. Shannon "had not 
called upon persons residents of any other state to aid in 
the execution of the laws." Yet several gentlemen from 
Missouri come up with him to Lawrence, and in council 
treat for peace. When our officers go to Franklin, at his 
urgent request, it is to meet, at their head-quarters, the 
captains and officers of his army. Does this look like any 
variation from the truth? The governor is complained of 
bitterly by the men who say that on the first evening of his 
return from Lawrence to the headquarters on the Waka- 
rusa, he stated distinctly the arms were to be given up. 
The rabble, with many expressions of dissatisfaction, have 
sought their homes. The leaders, suffering from the smart 
of mortification, consider themselves sold, Judas-like, by 
one who should be the soul of honor, integrity and justice, 
and whom they .trusted as a strong ally in the subjugation 
of this freedom-loving and down-trodden people. Feeling 
that their defeat has indeed been ignoble and signal, they, 
nursing secret discontent, and thirsting for revenge, will 
plan a new invasion, new schemes of villainy. There is no 



184 KANSAS. 

settlement of the difficult)'. It is only the present lull of 
the late storm, gathering, it may be, greater fury. While 
the border leagues are still in being, and they as strongly 
determined now, as for a year past, to make Kansas a slave 
state; while the settlers in Kansas have grown yet more 
strong in their devotion to the principles of freedom from 
the infamous measures taken by Gov. Shannon, and the 
other officials, to forcibly wrest them from them, there is 
no certainty of peace. Since Gov. Shannon has brought a 
mob against Lawrence; since he, with Judge Lecompte 
and other appointees of the President, have fraternally 
sympathized with Atchison and Stringfellow, the depth, 
the intensity of the feeling of our people against such a 
tyrannical rule cannot be estimated. 

The seeds of difficulty are sown broadcast, and no one 
can tell what trivial circumstance shall cause a sudden, 
terrible outbreak. There is ignorance among this excitable 
class of men in the border counties, but the ignorance/ is 
not the principal cause for fear. Such men as Col. Boone 
of Westport, who was Gov. Shannon's chief adviser, rule 
these men; and when Col. Boone came to Lawrence, with 
his courtly bearing and most dignified manners, one could 
hardly believe he was a "border ruffian." While the 
words, "he came to see if everything was done right," 
were repeatedly upon his tongue, his inflammatory appeals 
for men and money to aid in this invasion, in which there 
was no shadow of truth, were sent through all the border. 
He has, beside, never failed to be active in these invasions 
and frauds upon the ballot-box. 

Unless the federal government interposes for the relief 
of the actual settler, there is 3'et imminent danger that 
other martjrs for liberty will fall beneath the assassin's 
blow; that these broad prairies, whose very air breathes 
life and freedom, consecrated by God when fresh from his 
forming hand, sealed by a sacred compact of men, shall 
again be consecrated by their blood. 



CHAPTER XII. 

FUNERAL OF BARBER — DEATH OF R. P. BROWN. 

Dec. 15th. — The day of the election upon the adoption 
of the state constitution. The vote for the constitution 
was small, coming as it did on the heels of the invasion. 
In some of the districts the constitutions were not received. 
There was no opportunity to canvass the territory; and 
where appointments had been made for meetings, there 
was no speaking. At Leavenworth there was a gathering 
of some of. the forces who had been before Lawrence. As 
the election was proceeding quietly, Charles Dunn, with a 
party smashed in the window of the building where the 
election was being held, jumped in, and drove off the judges 
of election. One of the clerks of election, in attempting 
to save the ballot-box, was siezed by the throat by Dunn. 
He was also struck in the face by Dunn, and b}' another 
person, until he fell, when the crowd rushed upon him, 
kicking him in the head and sides. Dunn and part}'^ then 
carried off the ballot-boxes. 

i6t]i.—\\. is a clear, bright December day, and the snows, 
which came in small quantity, are fast melting, and mingling 
with the clayey soil. So, besides the burden of rubbers, 
one has to carry no little portion of the native earth. 
But, as Mr. Barber was to be disinterred from his hasty 
burial in town, to be buried with martial honors to-day, 
we made the half-mile walk. First, however, arranging 
for the sick man at home. Mr. Conway had gone beyond 
his strength, in an attempted journey, and he was again a 



l86 KANSAS. 

fixture in the chimney-corner. He threatens, with a mix- 
ture of "quinine and sulphuric acid," to drive away the 
chills; but whether he may not drive himself away, his 
fragility continually suggests. However, in these days of 
reform and progress, it has become fashionable to "die of 
the doctor rather than the disease." 

As we reach the hotel, which had indeed become the 
place for all assemblies, meetings to discuss the affairs 
of the country, or pleasure-gatherings, the barracks for 
soldiers, and now where the services for the dead were to 
be performed, the wagons and the carriages standing 
around, and the groups of people hurrying in all directions, 
showed that the feeling of the people was aroused. We 
passed among the crowd, and, narrowly escaping a fall 
into one of the ditches made by the throwing up of the en- 
trenchments, ascended the inclined boards at the doorway, 
which served for steps. » 

As I entered the long dining-hall, where but a week 
since was the sound of rejoicing, it seemed as though every 
place was full. But a friendl}' heart, though a stranger's, 
made room, on one of the long settees. Long boards h&d 
also been brought in for extra seats, and these were full of 
this sympathizing community. 

It was a strange, a motley group. There were hats of 
satin and velvet, with plumes, and Paris flowers, with 
dresses of rich material, and costly furs. There were 
brides of a few months, just arrived in this western home, 
and city belles come out for a winter's sojourn where the 
artificial has wholly given place to simplicity and nature. 
There were some with log-cabin bonnets of black silk, or 
cotton velvet, and dress of plain coarse stuff, giving to the 
wearer an odd, strange look. There were others whose 
apparel is the safer medium between the two, which ever 
bespeak the taste and intelligence of the wearer. 

There were many who have lived their whole lives in 
cities, accustomed to their elegancies and refinements, who 
are now roughing it with the simple dwellers in nature's 



FUNERAL OF BARBER DEATH OF BROWN. 187 

halls. Yet, over all this immense crowd, who had gathered 
from many miles around to take part in this mournful 
service, was spread the hallowed, chastening influence of 
this great sorrow. There was not one present but would 
willingly have taken part of the burden, could it have 
lessened the crushing woe of the lone bereaved one. 
Silence pervaded the assembl}', and many a heart whose 
tendrils yet cling unbroken around their loved ones, who 
seemingly had been in perils more and greater, felt a deep 
thankfulness that, rudely torn asunder, they did not then 
lie bleeding, the fond object dying, withering. 

There was a sound of people moving, the tread of many 
feet, a heart-breaking sob, and many turned to look. Had 
they passed through hours when the dead angel had strick- 
en down the loved from their own pathway, they would 
have realized how like sacrilege is this gazing of the multi- 
tude upon the broken, crushed spirit, burying its dead. 

Then the sob came from the other end of the hall, and 
the tall, white-haired, blue-eyed man, who knew her hus- 
band, and would perform the service, bent over her, 
to speak some comforting word. But, like Rachel, she 
refused to be comforted. A hymn was read, and the 
audience sang an old familiar tune; but ever and anon, 
amid the singing, there came this wailing, this moaning, 
as though the heart must break through its earthly fetters. 
Short speeches followed from Generals Lane and Robinson, 
and then a sad sermon. 

General Robinson spoke as follows: 

"The occasion which calls us together is one of deep 
interest and peculiar significance to every patriot and 
Republican. 

"Our Territory has been repeatedly invaded, and our 
dearest rights trampled upon, by the citizens of a foreign 
state. They have taken possession of our ballot-boxes, 
and by force of arms have wrested from us the right to 
make our own laws and choose our own rulers, and imposed 
upon us a system of laws uncongenial to our natures and 



ibO KANSAS. 

Avants. Having accomplished all this by invasion and 
outrage, it was but natural to suppose that invasion and 
outrage would be necessary to enforce their enactments. 
"Misunderstanding" the facts and the temper of the people 
as well as their tactics, the executive recently gave the signal 
for another invasion, and the armed hordes responded. Our 
citizens have been besieged, robbed, insulted, and mur- 
dered; and our town threatened with destruction for two 
whole weeks, by the authority of the executive, and, as he 
now saj's, in consequence of a -'misunderstanding." A 
misunderstanding on the part of an executive is a most 
unfortunate affair. 

"Our governor having been told that the people of Kan- 
sas did not recognize the laws of Missouri, and were 
determined these laws should be a dead letter in the terri- 
tory, unwittingly fell into the error of supposing the people 
would array themselves against the government of the 
United States, evidently not understanding how a code 
of enactments can be effectually resisted and no law vio- 
lated. Had he carefully read the early history of his 
country, he might have understood the "Sons of Liberty" 
better than to suppose any United States law would be 
violated by the people, or if violated, that the community 
would be guilty of violating it. 

"By whose act do the remains of the lamented Thomas 
Barber now await interment at our hands? By whose 
hand is his wife made a widow? By whose instrumentalitj' 
are we made to mourn the untimel}' fall of a brave comrade 
and worthy citizen? Report says Thomas Barber was mur- 
dered in cold blood by an officer, or officers, of the govern- 
ment, who was a member of the sheriff's posse, which was 
commanded by the governor, who is backed by the President 
of the United States. Was Thomas Barber murdered? 
Then are the men who killed him, and the officials bj' 
whose autliority they acted, his murderers. And if the 
laws are to be enforced, then will the Indian Agent, the 
Governor, and the President be convicted of, and punished 



FUNERAL OF BARBER DEATH OF BROWN. I 89 

for, murder. There is work enough for the "law and 
order" men to do, and let us hear no more about resistance 
to the laws till this work is done. If all Missouri must be 
aroused, and the whole nation convulsed to serve a peace 
warrant on an unoffending citizen, may we not expect some 
slight effort will be made to bring these capital offenders to 
justice? Or are our laws made for the low, and not the 
high — for the poor, and not the rich? 

"For the dead we need not mourn. He fell a martyr to 
principle, and his blood will nourish the tree of liberty. 
An honorable death is preferable to a dishonorable and 
inglorious life. Such was the death of our brother and as 
such he will ever be cherished by his companions and 
fellow-citizens. It is glory enough for any man that a 
body of men like the Barber Guards should adopt his name 
to designate and distinguish their company. 

"To his beloved and bereaved wife, to his brothers and 
relatives, to the members of his compan}', to all who have 
pledged property, honor, and life to the cause of freedom 
and humanity, I seem to hear the spirit of our departed 
brother say, 'Be of good cheer; weep not for me you are 
engaged in a good work, and your reward will be glorious. 
Death is no misfortune to the true; indeed, it is sweet to 
die in defense of liberty.' 

"But the shock produced by the murder of our friend is 
felt be^-ond the circle of his immediate relatives and friends. 
It has shaken the entire fabric of our government to its 
very base, and nothing but the unseen hand of the All-wise 
Governor of the Universe could have saved this nation 
from civil war and political death. 

"It is due to the bold stand taken by the freemen of 
Kansas during the late invasion that the sun of liberty is 
still above the horizon; and cold indeed must be his heart, 
wherever found, that does not beat in unison with ours as 
we pay the last tribute of respect to the remains of our 
brother! Can the people of this nation approve the 



I go 



KANSAS. 



" 'Costly mockery of piling stone on stone? 

To those who won our liberty, the heroes dead and gone, 
While we look coldly on and see law-shielded ruffians slay 
The men who fain would win their own, the heroes of to-day?" 
■No!' 

" 'Be callous as they will, 
From soul to soul, o'er all the world, 
Leaps one electric thrill,' " 

When the preacher, Mr. Dennis, spoke of death finding 
the one taken in the performance of his dut}-, a duty cheer, 
fully performed for his country; that from this service he 
had been taken to a higher; of him who will be to the 
widow more than husband or child; of the evanescence of 
human life, and of that fairer country, beyond the dark 
waters of death, where the cruel reign of the tyrant is over; 
we feel that a response went out from the poor lone one's 
heart, — that she had caught a glimpse of the bright chain 
reaching from heaven, earthward, — and that she would re- 
alize, more fully than in life, the nearness of the loved spirit. 

The services were over, and preparations were made to 
bear the lamented dead to the burial. The military com- 
panies, with arms reversed, walked first, the generals, 
upon horseback, leading the way. There was the com- 
pany from Lawrence, and the "Barber Guards;" then the 
body of the dead, and the sad mourners, — the widow and 
brothers; then the neighbors of the quiet, inoffensive man, 
who felt most keenly his death; then the whole commu- 
nity. All kinds of vehicles, wagons and carriages, fell 
into the rear, and in solemn procession made a long line 
over the prairie. Soon they wound up the lone, steep 
way, over Mount Oread. 

A mile further over the level prairie the procession 
moved on slowly, "for it was a man they bore." The 
soldiers formed in lines on either side, with bowed heads 
and lifted hats. The mourners passed through, and stood 
around the open grave. The coffin was gently lowered, 
the falling earth rattled upon its lid— a dread, fearful 
sound; the bitter wailing of the desolate, childless, earth- 



FUNERAL OF BARBER — DEATH OF BROWN. igi 

stricken widow rose above the sad moaning of the winter 
wind, and broke in upon the words, "Dust to dust'" — "I 
am the resurrection and the life. " 

The mourners fell back, giving place to the soldiers, who 
then stood around the grave, and each division tired their 
rifles into the last resting-place of their loved and honored 
comrade. 

Such a scene as this the actors in it had never before 
witnessed, and with similar emotions never will again. In 
this glorious old country, with its hills so smoothly ter- 
raced, its prairies boundless, over which, a twelvemonth 
since, the Indian alone roamed with the wild deer in the 
venerable forests, now in concord the white man dwells 
with his red brother. There is no war between them, no 
enmity. But another power, more hideous, more grasping, 
has arisen. These beautiful lands are coveted b}' the 
slave power. It threatens boldly, and with all its treachery, 
all its hateful wiles unmasked, to bring the dark-browed 
race, whose color is their crime, to suffer here; that with 
the sweetly perfumed breath of these green prairies shall 
come to our ears the wailing of her who is worse than 
widowed, and the sad cry of children who know no tenderer 
words of man than those of the bloody^ task-master and 
tyrant. 

For this the slave power has another victim, and the 
solemn prairie has witnessed the burial of liberty's third 
martyr to-day. Stern men, unused to weep, and timid 
women, have bowed with the stricken, and shared their 
grief. The blow falling most heavily on her, leavesjthem not 
untouched, and the warning is loud and deep,^"Deatli to 
your liberties." The love we had always borne to freedom 
is tenfold increased, while the hatred of oppression is 
intensified and strengthened. A newjconsecrationlof our 
energies, in this unequal fight for freedom, is made over 
the new-made grave. And it is no child's play, — no work 
merely of to-day, — but a life service. It is easy to boast 
of putting on the harness, and to be full of courage, when 



ig2 KANSAS. 

quiet sits by one's own fireside, and when the crowd are 
pressing eagerly on to victory, with banners waving, and 
music filling the air; but it is another thing in this frontier 
land, where for very weariness with watching the soul 
faints; where there is no gloss of military trappings, where 
the plumes are tattered, and the little army, weary and 
struggling, is passing through sorrow and the wilderness. 

In the prospect of freedom's bulwarks raised high and 
strong we can yet exult. It will be accomplished by no 
magic power, but by faithful service, and patient endurance. 
Strong arms will hew out the timber, dig broad and deep 
the trenches, and rear high the walls. It will cost many 
tears and cares, anxieties and prayers, and the sorrow of 
many spirits hopeful to-day. It may cost many valued 
lives; but we will lay each corner-stone of this altar of 
freedom with the serene, abiding strength of a holy faith; 
trust all to Him who maketh "the darkness as the noon- 
day," and the end will be glorious. 

Sheriff Jones called at the door, before the day was over, 
for Smith and Tappan, two young men of New England 
origin, and of whom she may well be proud. They went 
with him to Lecompton for trial, having been engaged in 
the "rescue" case, and from that court will appeal to the 
Supreme Court of the United States, hoping thus to test 
the validity of the territorial laws. We hope this willing- 
ness of theirs to be the instruments in testing these laws 
will not be at too great a cost. Another of the rescuers, 
J. B. Abbott, was sitting in the parlor when Jones called 
for Smith and Tappan, upon whom he had previously 
served the warrant; but his eye did not fall upon the man 
he had so much longed to arrest. 

22d. — A convention was holden to-day in Lawrence to 
nominate state officers. It was fully attended. The fore- 
noon was warm and pleasant; but the change in the 
weather, soon after dinner, was terrible. 

Tiie cold every moment increased, and snow commenced 
falling with the evening shadows. Emily wrapped herself 



FUNERAL OF BARBER — DEATH OF BROWN. 193 

in blankets, and took a nap on the lounge. I tried to write 
a letter, sitting on a cricket, close to the stove, with lamp 
upon a music stool; but it required so much time to change 
positions, to keep some part of me from freezing, that I 
concluded to lay it by for a warmer day. The next sug- 
gestion was, as it would be late before they would return 
from the convention, to try to go to sleep. There was a 
crispy sound of new-fallen snow, the moment one's foot 
was on the stairway, and all through the chambers, over 
trunks, bureaus, beds, and everywhere, was spread this white 
mantle. The roof was in] pervious to rain, but the fine 
snow sifted in everywhere. So, gently shaking the pillows, 
I lay down, and the fleecy covering was still falling. 
Twice I went down to replenish the fire, lest when they 
came they would be almost frozen, and the clock struck 
three, ere, through the wildness of the night, I heard 
cheerful voices approaching the house. Some of the gen- 
tlemen had frozen their ears, and were free to declare that 
the night was awful. 

We New Englanders consoled ourselves by thinking that 
in her borders it was even colder than here, while our 
guests, who had been used to the mild climate of southern 
Illinois and Kentucky, could hardly believe that this was 
the "very mild climate" which travelers have termed it, or 
that "cattle could graze" and "flowers bloom the whole 
year." Before the gentlemen retired, I made an effort to 
remove the snow from their bed; but it was continually 
falling, and the attempt was nearly useless. 

23d. — Tappan and Smith have returned from Lecomp- 
ton. They were committed for trial, but Jones let them 
out on parole, until the time they are to go to Leavenworth 
to be imprisoned. 

24th. — Still snowing, and the weather terribly severe. 
The thermometer seventeen degrees below zero, wind is 
blowing, and the snow drifting into all imaginable shapes. 
To travel in it seems impossible, and many times to-day I 
am querying what will become of the party who left here last. 

13 



194 KANSAS. 

evening. To face a Missouri mob is nothing to facing 
these winds which sweep over the prairies. 

Four young men— two from New England, Smith and 
Tappan, one from England, Redpath, and Col. Phillips, 
our Scotch friend — are stopping here. They try to write, 
but the ink can only be kept in a fluid state by keeping it 
on the stove, while it freezes in their pens. Were it not 
for their good spirits, and fun-loving natures, I believe we 
should all freeze together. As it is, there are many things 
to provoke a laugh even amid the discomforts, and a little 
warmth remains. We think such weather as this can only 
last a day or two; for last year at Christmas, people sat 
with doors and windows open. 

The cows and mules, wandering about without shelter, 
not being able to get a nibble for themselves, look at me 
pleadingly, as much as to say, "Why don't 3'ou feed me?" 
while many of them find their way into our barn and help 
themselves. 

2§th. — Cold, bitter, stinging cold; not so windy as yes- 
terday, but the cold more intense. Thermometer ranging 
between twenty and thirty degrees below zero. The water 
freezes in the tumblers at breakfast, and everything eatable, 
or intended to be eaten, is frozen hard. The bread can 
only be cut as we thaw it by the fire, setting the loaf down 
and cutting one piece at a time. Potatoes, squashes, 
pumpkins, citrons, and apples, are as hard as rocks. Sev- 
eral glass pickle-jars, filled with ketchup, are broken open 
from top to bottom. 

26iJi. — It is no warmer yet. What will the poor settlers 
do who have no floors in their cabins? — and there are many 
such. Will their hopeful, cheerful spirit, which has borne 
them through the dark hours now scarcely passed, sustain 
them against physical suffering, it may be actual want? 
The sacking of their granaries and open houses will cause 
untold ills. 

Now, when New England hears of the destitution of her 
own children, fighting her battles, trusting their all in this 



FUNERAL OF BARBER DEATH OF BROWN. I95 

dangerous strife, will she put her hands into her well-filled 
pockets, and send of her fullness for their necessities? 
Hungar}', yes, poor, bleeding Hungary, sought aid and 
found it here. The nation's heart responded. Greece 
stretched forth her hands not in vain. Shall the imploring 
cry of destitute, starving Kansas reach no pitying heart? 

Gov. Shannon has been at Lecompton for some time. 
He did not come to Lawrence, as he proposed, and, it is 
said he is soon going home. The glory won here in his 
famous war will probably suffice him for the remnant of 
his life, and he may conclude to retire upon his laurels. 

The circuit court should have met last week at Lecomp- 
ton, but after keeping the prisoners there all the week, the 
judge not then appearing, the court was adjourned until 
the March term. Some of the rescuers have given bail, 
but Tappan and Smith still refuse to do so, as it would be 
recognizing the Missouri territorial justice. Getting weary 
of waiting for Judge Lecompte's appearance, the patience 
of the border ruffians at Lecompton was exhausted. They 
even went so far as to threaten his removal, and cursed 
him in no stinted terms. Smith, with his love of a good 
joke, said, 

"If you want to get him removed, I'll tell j^ou how you 
may easily do it." 

"How is it?" asked the renowned Sheriff Jones. 

"Why, get him to join the free-state party." 

Another outrage has been committed at Leavenworth. 
During Col. Delahay's absence, while attending the con- 
vention here, his press was thrown into the river. It looks 
singular, as he is a national democrat, and a personal 
friend of Stephen A. Douglas. He has also always been 
wonderfully conservative, and ever counselled no resistance 
to the laws. He was, with other leading men at Leaven- 
worth, so fearful of doing anything to offend the border 
men, that he declined to do anything for the defence of 
Lawrence. Some of them said, "They have got into a 
scrape; let them "get out the best way they can!" and one 



196 KANSAS. 

of them, a bachelor, said, "We must stay at home and 
defend our own wives and children." Col. Delaha}^ how- 
ever, was a member of the constitutional convention, and 
it may be for this that the Missouri mob treated his press 
so rudely. 

2gth. — Doctor arrived home from Kansas City. He had, 
in addition to his heavy fur coat, fur gloves, and fur-lined 
over-shoes, a heavy shawl and mittens, and was very cold 
even then. On his way down he suffered so severely from 
the cold that, with assistance he went into an Indian hut 
to warm, and for a half hour lay fainting on the floor. 
The cold at Kansas City has been even greater than here. 
It is apparently quiet along the border, yet the press in 
the frontier towns, as well as those papers of pro-slavery 
sentiments in the territory, are endeavoring to inflame the 
populace in such articles as the following, taken from the 
Kickapoo Pioneer, of Dec. 26: 

"But the abolitionists, or free-state men, if you please, 
have become dissatisfied, and are willing to violate the 
constitution of their country, which explicitly recognizes 
slavery, and disfranchises themselves as loyal citizens, for 
the purpose of stealing negroes, and coijimitting other 
unconstitutional and unlawful depredations, Should such 
men receive any compassion from an orderly, union-loving 
people? No! It is this class of men that have congregated 
at Lawrence, and it is this class of men that Kansas must 
get rid of. And we know of no better method than for 
every man who loves his country, and the laws by which 
he is governed, to meet in Kansas and kill off this God- 
forsaken class of humanity as soon as they place tlieir feet 
upon our soil." 

While articles like these are circulated through the bor- 
ders, letters, calling for men and money, are industriously 
written and published throughout the South. Southern 
Kansas aid societies are being formed, and it is rumored 
that Gen. Quitman, of Mississippi, of fillibuster renown, 
has given twenty-five hundred dollars to this society, and 



FUNERAL OF BARBER DEATH OF BROWN. I97 

will be here in the spring with several hundred men from 
that state. Major Buford, of Alabama, has contributed 
twenty-five thousand dollars for a similar purpose, and 
upon the opening of navigation proposes to be here with 
three hundred southerners. Notwithstanding the hue and 
cry made over northern emigrant aid societies, will there 
be aught said against these? 

Jan. 1st. — A beautiful, sunny morning ushers in the new 
3'ear, but the air is still keen and cold. For nearly ten 
da3's the cold has been without precedent, and we, of New 
England, who came hoping to find warm and pleasant 
winters, begin to surmise we are in the wrong latitude, and 
talk of a new emigration still southward. 

A gentleman, Rev. Mr. Burgess, here to-day, who has 
lived in Missouri over twenty years, says he has never 
seen such weather as this. With his large, blue blanket, a 
place being cut in the center through which he slips his 
head, his ears and nearl}' the whole of the face being pro- 
tected by a worsted fabric of gray color, one can hardly tell 
Avhether he belongs to the Anglo-Saxon or the aboriginal 
race. The little boy, whose family has but recently moved 
into the next house beyond us, has been in, nearly frozen. 
He carries all the water the family uses from our spring, 
making a distance of nearly half a mile. He is a slight 
little fellow, and only twelve years old. He has two pails, 
and dips the water with a half-pint cup. He sits a long 
time by the dining-room stove, and seems to suffer much 
from his frost-bitten fingers. There is to be a new-year's 
party at the hotel, and the lovers of gayety will be there. 

6i1i. — Who ever saw so clear a morning as this? The 
smoke from the Indian houses over in the Delaware Re- 
serve, and five miles away, could be seen gracefully curling 
and rising above the trees, as plainly as that from the 
house nearest us. The smoke rising from so many dwell- 
ings, far and near, from the compact settlement of Law- 
rence, and the sun shining upon the snow, making it look 
like a broad mantle studded with glittering gems, formed a 



igS KANSAS. 

pleasing, novel sight, well worth a place in memory's 
gallery. 

lOth. — What odd-looking sleighs our people ride in, and 
how they glide over the smooth, level way! Yankee in- 
vention, so much despised, brings a mine of comfort to her 
frontier children. A sleigh is wanted; the enterprising 
youth goes into the woods, and cuts two poles long enough 
for runners and shafts. A little part between the shafts 
and runners, leaving each the required length, is shaved 
from the upper side, so that they will bend easily. A few 
little cross-pieces being put in, and two or three cross- 
boards on the runners, with a box for a seat, the vehicle is 
complete. This is the most simple contrivance of all. 
There is another variety of wagon-body on runners, which 
has the advantage of greater safety over the other, with 
sufficient lightness. From the first we have learned of 
some laughable accidents. A day or two since, two young 
men were riding quite briskly along, when, coming to a 
drift, the horse stopped suddenly, and one of our friends, 
quicker than thought, found himself head foremost in a 
deep bank, little more than boots being visible. He was 
so completely pinioned by the depth of snow, and b)' the 
force with which he was sent from the slight vehicle, that 
it was only after extra help had arrived that he was extri- 
cated. He suffered no injury, and joined in the laugh of 
the bystanders. 

igth. — Word came in last night, about eleven o'clock, of 
an attack at Easton, two messengers having narrowly es- 
caped with the intelligence. Smith had gone down, late 
at night, to see if there was any news, and he brought back 
the startling intelligence that a fight had occurred at Easton. 

One pro-slavery man, named Cook, mortally wounded; 
some free-state men in the hands of the mob, whom they 
threatened to hang if Cook dies. The council of war was 
to be held, and doctor went down with Smith immediately. 
Not long after I was awakened again by a loud knocking 
at the door. I opened the window and asked, "What's 



FUNERAL OF BARBER DEATH OF BROWN. 1 99 

wanted?" The reply was, "Tlie general wishes Tappan to 
saddle the horse and send him down by me." After some 
amusing and truitless efforts, Tappan was at last awakened 
enough to know that war was abroad, and the horse was 
soon on his way to headquarters. 

Two or three horsemen left immediately for Leaven- 
worth, to apply to Judge Lecompte for a writ of habeas 
corpus, that the prisoners might be released from the gang, 
while others started for Easton, the scene of the trouble. 
Our people are feeling much excited, and ready to lend 
any assistance to their neighbors in peril. 

Owing to the disturbances at Leavenworth on the 
fifteenth of December, and from rumors of another mob 
gathering just across the river, to prevent this election of 
the fifteenth of January, the mayor issued a proclamation 
forbidding an election to be held at Leavenworth. A few 
of the free-state men then went to Easton, about twelve 
miles from Leavenworth, where the election had been 
postponed until the seventeenth. On their way to the 
polls, some persons were stopped and disarmed by a body 
of armed men. In the afternoon a company came to Mr. 
Minard's house, where the election was held, and threat- 
ened to destroy the ballot-boxes. Late at night, as Mr. 
Sparks and his son were leaving for home, they were 
attacked and taken prisoners by three men. Information 
of it reached Mr. Minard immediately, by a man who left 
his house in company with Mr. Sparks. Mr. Brown and 
a company of others went to the relief of Mr. Sparks, and 
saved him when in imminent peril. As the rescued re- 
turned with the rescuers to the house, they were fired uppn. 
They returned the fire, and an irregular fight, firing from 
behind buildings, commenced. One or two free-state men 
were slightly wounded, while a Mr. Cook, of bitter pro- 
slayery feelings, was wounded mortally. 

2ist. — Sunday. Our messengers returned tonight, and 
brought certain knowledge of the murder of R. P. Brown. 
The blood chilled in our veins as we heard the recital of 



200 KANSAS. 

the horrid outrage, and the beating heart cried, is there no 
justice — no avenger? After Mr. Sparks left for Lawrence, 
Mr. Brown, and seven others from Leavenworth, attempted 
to return there. The}' were followed, and taken prisoners 
by the Kickapoo Rangers, headed by Capt. John W. 
Martin. Mr. Brown was placed in a room apart from the 
others of his party. The hours were passing, and the men 
who had them in their power were becoming yet more 
brutal by the free use of liquor, aiid the}' were bent upon 
the death of Mr. Brown. Capt. Martin used his influence 
to prevent such a deed; but, after doing all in his power to 
save him, he went home. The cruel crowd then took him 
out of the house, and, with blows and kicks, and knocking 
him upon the frozen earth, and literally hacking him in 
pieces with a hatchet, they showed themselves fiendish 
beyond the unenlightened savage. Then throwing him 
into a wagon, with wounds undressed, he was borne several 
miles, through the piercing cold of a January night, to his 
home. He could only say to his wife, "I am murdered by 
a set of cowards," and death ended his sufferings. 

The slave power has another victim, and the shame, the 
eternal infamy of his mournful death will forever, like an 
incubus, rest upon his soul who has the power, yet offers 
no interference against the hunting down of our citizens, 
by worse than Florida blood-hounds! Was there ever an 
administration so utterly vile as this? 

Mr. Brown was a tall man, with pleasant dark eyes, 
olive-brown complexion, and dark abundant hair. He was 
at Lawrence during the siege; one of the few from Leaven- 
worth who ventured so far from home. He leaves a wife 
a'nd child to mourn over his sad, heart-rending fate. While 
Kansas' wrongs are written in the blood of her citizens, the 
cruel, bloody death of her fourth martyr for freedom will 
never be effaced from the memories of the dwellers in this 
far-away land. 

2jd. — More messengers are in from Easton; men driven 
from their homes upon peril of their lives, and with con- 



FUNERAL OF BARBER — DEATH OF BROWN. 201 

tinued threats of violence. They come to Lawrence, as to 
a city of refuge. Mr. Sparks is now in peril from bands of 
armed Missourians. Some twenty-five men go up from 
here and Topeka. One man, who came down to notify the 
people here, escaped from a band of twelve men in hot 
pursuit, — something after Gen. Putnam's mode, of revolu- 
tionary memory, — by leaping over a precipitous bank, 
wliile the enemy did not dare follow. While they were 
looking for a smoother descent, he had time to escape. 
After Mr. Minard had been obliged to leave his home, 
some of the ruffians went to his house, asking "if they 
could come in to get warm." Mrs. Minard replid, "they 
could do so b}^ giving her their guns." As they sat by the 
fire, they told her "they had killed her husband." How- 
ever, she gave no credence to it. 

Major Robinson, of Tecumseh, died toda}-. He has 
been ill most of the time since the invasion of Lawrence, 
the disease having been contracted from exposure at that 
time. For some time he was sick at the Cincinnati House; 
but there is little room there for sick people, and no quiet; 
and Mrs. Wood, the noble woman, who has sacrificed 
much for the cause, in the exposures of last winter and 
this, and the constant absence of her husband, offered her 
cabin, under the shadow of the hotel, as a place of rest 
and quiet to the sick stranger. The unconsciousness of 
disease was upon him much of the time, and when his mind 
was dull to things about him, far-away scenes were fresh 
in his memory, and friends he had long loved were minis- 
tering by his bedside. He talked much with his mother, 
when clouds darkened his mental vision. He said to her, 
"Take off my shoes, mother, for I am tired and weary, and 
I cannot travel further." So, with this sweet conscious- 
ness of loved friends around him, his life's journey closed. 

24th. — It was a little milder this morning; and, not 
having been out since the cold weather came, I proposed 
to Tappan to take me to call on a friend, and to the stores. 
Not knowing my arrangements, the doctor had lent both 



202 KANSAS. 

horse and carriage; and, as I came down stairs, cloak and 
bonnet on, they were alread}' out of sight. Tappan said, 
"We'll not lose our ride in this way," and suggested taking 
Mr. Pomeroy's buggy, which was in a sadly dilapidated 
condition, and a mule of somebody's else, quartered in the 
barn for a few days. My only question was as to safety, 
and we were soon rattling over the drifts, now one side 
inclining far down, threatening to spill us out, and then 
the other. This incessant rattling put speed into the wild 
mule, and a John Gilpin ride we had of it for the first 
quarter of a mile. However, by clinging to the frame-work 
of the seat, for there was nothing left of it but the frame- 
work, we passed over the ravine at the foot of the long 
sloping hill west of the house, in safety, and the mule took 
an easier gait both for himself and us. We reached the 
place of our destination. A gentleman, 'iMr. Edward Clark, 
opened the door, and asked very blandly, "Is this the state 
carriage?" 

Doctor having had a more recent title than that of gen- 
eral bestowed upon him, I answered, "Yes; and will }our 
wife accept the honor of a ride?" 

He looked with a dubious expression at the broken 
dasher, swinging forward and back at every motion, the 
bottom half broken out, the shafts tied on with ropes, and 
the seat cushionless, and destitute of every bit of leather 
it ever boasted, to say nothing of broken springs, and 
wheels with tire half off, and said, "Yes, if you will insure 
her safety." 

With blue blankets before and around us, instead of 
buffalo-robes, we were soon on our way to town, and hur- 
ried along at the mule's own pace. We laughed until we 
were weary at the mule's antic motions, never before hav- 
ing had the honor of a ride after one. Tappan and Mrs. 
Clark, both Boston bred, laughed at the idea of what an 
impression such an establishment, and such speed, would 
make down Washington street some pleasant winter's day. 
After a short call at our stores, than which there are none 



FUNERAL OF BARBER —DEATH OF BROWN. 203 

better in most New England villages, neatly furnished as 
some of them are with black walnut shelves and counters, 
we went home. 

Letters from Kansas City and Leavenworth state that 
some deep-laid scheme for our ruin is being planned. 
They do not know what it is, yet advise us to prepare for 
the worst. There is a perfect lull at those places, — -no 
bravado, no threats, — all of which reminds us of the fear- 
ful calm always preceding the bursting out of a volcano. 
Prominent pro-slavery men are seen riding into a town; 
they hold a few moments' conversation with the leaders of 
their party there, then disappear. Quickly they are at 
another settlement; but no word is dropped as to the 
designs. 

A half ton of lead, and nearly as much powder, arrived 
to-day. Other teams, loaded with the same needful, are 
on the way. Provisions, too, are fast coming in, and we 
will soon be able to stand quite a siege. Sixty men, de- 
tailed from the various companies, are at work upon differ- 
ent fortifications. A guard is again to watch hourl}' for 
our safety. Again and again in the dead of night messen- 
gers were sent out in the terrible cold and through the deep 
snows to learn what new dangers threatened Lawrence or 
other settlements. Little George F. Earl was the man 
who was called on by Governor Robinson to perform a 
duty difficult or dangerous. He was one of the pioneers 
of August, 1854, from Fitchburg, Mass. He was one of 
the elective officers, and took an active part in the free- 
state movement. He belonged to the first military compa- 
ny organized in the territory for defense against invasion. 
He was a great favorite with Gov. Robinson, on account of 
his sterling qualities of bravery, tact and faithfulness in the 
most critical circumstances. Sometimes it happened as he 
was called upon to start out at midnight for a perilous ride 
across the country, to learn the whereabouts of the enemy, 
I would hear his cheerful voice under the window, and 
quickly gather together what he needed for the trip, while 



204 KANSAS. 

he made himself ready as far as extra clothing could, and 
saddled his horse.* 

The Kickapoo Pioneer office issued, on the morning after 
the murder of Brown, January i8th, the following extra, 
commencing, "Rally! rally'" After making several mis- 
statements, — among others, that an abolition companj' 
from Lawrence had made an attack upon the pro-slavery 
men, — it goes on: "Forbearance has now ceased to be a 
virtue; therefore, we call upon every pro-slavery man in 
the land to rally to the rescue. Kansas must be immedi- 
ately rescued from the tyrannical dogs. The Kickapoo 
Rangers are at this moment beating to arms. A large 
number of pro-slavery men will leave this place for Easton 
in twenty minutes. The war has again commenced, and 
the abolitionists have again commenced it. Pro-slavery 
men, law and order men. strike for your altars! strike for 
your firesides! strike for your rights! Avenge the blood of 
your brethren who have been cowardly assailed, but who 
have bravely fallen in defense of southern institutions. 
Sound the bugle of war over the length and breadth of the 
land, and leave not an abolitionist in the territory to relate 
their treacherous and contaminating deeds. Strike j'our 
piercing rifle-balls and your glittering steel to their black 
and poisonous hearts! Let the war-cry never cease in 
Kansas again until our territory is wrested of the last 
vestige of abolitionism." 

2^th — Still more snow. The beautifiul white covering 
lies two feet in depth on a level, and four or five in the 
drifts all over the country. It is the shield, the protection 
of the good Father for our defense. While the adminis- 
tration, with that corruption which will make it infamous 
in the annals of our country in all coming time, turns a 



*Iii an einer<;ency Ijo was always to be trusted. Utulor direction of Capt. 
Samut'l Walker, lie drove the team that conveyed Gov. Geary out of the 
territory at midnight to save his life from those crafty men at Leconipton 
who would have robbed him of it. in the sprin"; of 1S61 Gov. Robinson kept 
Earl in the border of Missouri to see how matters were drifting. He had 
the faculty of passing around among the border ruttians without attracting 
attention, and was a faithful reporter of their i)l:iiis. Nearly all of that 
little company— the'Stubbs"— enlisted in the I'niled Statesservice. Thirty 
of them aft(«rwards received commissions from tlie government and served 
as otflcors during tht> great leliellion. No officer in the command was more 
respected or more faithful to his duty than Capt. Geo. F. Earl. 



FUNERAL OF BARBER— DEATH OF BROWN. 205 

deaf ear to the agonized cry of widows and orphans; while 
the President says, "No acts prejudicial to good order have 
occurred under circumstances to justify the interposition 
of the federal government," the ear of Him, who will call 
to account for his stewardship any who make so base a use 
of power, is open, and he sends, for the present safety, 
this weather of unequalled severity, and fast-falling snows. 

Horses go ploughing through it, with difficulty making 
any headway. The most people we see moving to-day are 
with heavy sleds of wood, drawn by three or four 5'oke of 
oxen. We burn a cord and a half of wood a week, and, 
our wood-pile growing less not very gradually, we have 
watched with a good deal of interest a load which attempt- 
ed to come up the hill this afternoon. The oxen pulled 
with all their strength; the driver now coaxed, and then 
scolded. The oxen wo.uld lose their foothold, and plunge 
headlong into the deep drifts. Sometimes the forward 
yoke of cattle would turn fairly around, and face the load. 
All exertions to right them were of no avail until they were 
unyoked. As the night was coming fast, and the driver 
two miles from home, the load was thrown off about half 
way up the hill. The next morning the man came back, 
and succeeded in getting half of the load to the liouse. 
He was until midnight getting home the previous night, as 
he lost his way and wandered about hours in the darkness. 

Wood is one of the principal articles of consumption 
here this winter. Most of that burned is black walnut. 
There is also no lack of provisions here. Flour of the best 
quality can be bought in Missouri for four dollars and a 
half per hundred. We have always had good flour until 
this winter. Just after the invasion, a load of flour made 
of grown wheat was brought in. Apples, of the best 
quality and flavor, are very lenty. They sold in the 
autumn for one dollar a bushel. Sweet potatoes were 
abundant at one dollar twenty-five cents. These, with the 
apples, came from Missouri, but the nicest of squashes and 
other vegetables were raised in the territory. Squashes 
sold for one cent per pound, and pumpkins one dollar and 



2o6 KANSAS. 

fifty cents per hundred. Butter, made here, is very nice, 
and until quite recently has been plenty at twenty-five 
cents. Milk varies from four to ten cents per quart. 
Beside the meats, — beef, etc., — venison, prairie chickens, 
turkeys, rabbits and squirrels, are often in the market; also 
oysters in sealed cans. Yet, with all these gratifications 
for the palate, it is more than probable that, all these long 
days, some of our people have not tasted of them for want of 
money to buy them. Many a person gave freely of what 
he had in the siege of December, and while on guard at 
Lawrence lost all of his crops at home. As a people we are 
bankrupt. Remittances from the East are lost, or the 
same thing to us, retained, with letters, by the officious 
meddlers in government pay in a neighboring state. Mon- 
ey drafts are months on their way, when twelve or fourteen 
days is all-sufficient time for the journey. The people in 
the territory are at no time safe. The cabin of the lone 
settler on the prairie is momentarily exposed to attack, yet 
no light comes from Congress, — none from its head. 

This winter will be ever remembered for its unprecedent- 
ed severity, and for that wicked use of power by the ad- 
ministration which would make the career of Caligula 
magnanimous and spotless in the comparison. Those who 
sit in sealed houses, and by warm hearth-stones, no foes 
without or fears within, can never realize, as we in Kansas, 
on the exposed outposts, what a winter this has been to us. 
Our senses sharpened by the actual necessities of life, and 
our perceptions quickened by their unsleeping vigilance 
and constant action, none better than we can realize the 
terrible infamy wliich will cling to those who have been 
the chief abettors in filling up this cup of evil. Wrong- 
doing has marked their pathway, and shame will be their 
reward. Yet there is a golden bow of promise over us, the 
bright rainbow of hope; and, in characters clear as the 
sunlight and radiant as truth, beneath the arch encircling 
the snow-clad hills and prairies, and the sad dwellers 
among them, is written: "The days of the tyrant are 
numbered. He will hasten on his own downfall." 



J 



CHAPTER XIII. 

WINTER IN THE TERRITORY STATE LEGISLATURE. 

2(5///. — The men were early at their work this morning 
upon the little cabins in the forts. Stoves are to be put in 
them as soon as finished, and then soldiers will board in 
them as in times of war. The largest fort, which is at the 
foot of Massachusetts street, commanding the way to the 
river, is of circular form, about five feet high, with a broad 
walk upon the top, perhaps four feet wide. It is about one 
hundred feet in diameter, and is built of earth and timbers. 
A sentinel is continuall}^ pacing the rounds upon the top. 

The general and other officers are at all times bus}' in the 
council room. Scarcely six weeks have passed since Gov. 
Shannon's famous treaty; he has now gone home, and the 
plan seems to be to do what is to be done in his absence, 
while Woodson is acting governor. He, having been in- 
strumental in getting the Platte County Rifle Boys to 
come to the invasion of Lawrence, will not hesitate to do 
anything now which a Missouri mob asks of him. 

In the evening Tappan was asleep on the lounge, Emil}' 
and I were sitting in the bright moonlight, when the loud 
booming of cannon, the shouts of men, and the barking of 
dogs, startled us. With the door open we could see no 
strange thing, but the noise continued. It could not be 
Missourians, for they would not attack the town so early 
in the evening, or on such a bright night. 

Tappan awakened, and as we gave him no satisfactory 
answer to his question of "What's that?" he rose hastily, 
saying, "I believe those hounds have come." His pistol- 
belt was soon fastened on, and, as he left the door, he 
said, "Good-by, if I don't see you again." He was hasten- 



2o8 KANSAS. 

ing awa}^ when I said to him, "You must let me know 
somehow what is doing." 

"Yes, I will send you word, if I cannot come myself." 
As through the still night-air these words were borne to 
lue, the young, city-bred youth, whose heart beats warmly 
for freedom — freedom for all, was far down the hillside. 
Home friends were continually writing him, "Why don't 
you leave that God-forsaken country, and come home?" 
With the earliest settlers he embarked in the holy cause of 
saving Kansas to freedom, and with those principles deeply 
implanted in his nature, in the full vigor and strength of 
early manhood, with hope mounting high, he has buckled 
on the armor of a righteous self-defence, and with the 
watchword of victory he is ever read}^ for active service. I 
smile often at his enthusiasm of manner as he says, "I 
used often to go to the theatre at home, life was so dull; 
but here we have a new scene in the drama every day." I 
sympathize in the feeling, and have half a mind that all of 
us, living where we actually realize the truth, "Ye know 
not what a day may bring forth," would find New England 
paths dull and tame. Like him, there are many other 
young men, who, with unchecked aspirations and unblasted 
hopes, have in the trials of the hour put on the soberness, 
the prudence of life at its noon. Side by side with fur- 
rowed brows, and dark locks silvered o'er by time's fingers, 
they have prepared for the onset. Our people have grown 
strong in themselves under difficulties. Young men of ed- 
ucation and talent, who sought their home here, have put 
forth new powers. Stripped of all the artificial accom- 
paniment of old towns, driven by the circumstances of the 
times to exertions almost superhuman, the happy brighten- 
ing up of unused faculties, and the quickening of relaxed 
energies, have followed; whereas, amid the hum-drum 
paths of the old homes, surrounded by their gloss, gilding, 
and effeminacy, they would have passed along life's even 
waj's, attaining only medium rank in their professions. 

The women, too, of Kansas have shared in this quicken- 
ing of the perceptive and reflective faculties — the effect of 



WINTER IN THE TERRITORY— STATE LEGISLATURE. 209 

their surroundings. Some, who would have floated gayly 
down life's smoother tides, amid the glitter, the false show 
of society, bound down by an iron rule to King Custom's 
absurd ways, and would have asked not the great questions 
of life, of its import, of its destiny, have learned that "life 
is real, life is earnest." In the simplicity of nature, in a 
new country, there is a mutual dependence between all, 
which is not realized at home, and the very needs of hu- 
manity demand that one should live, not for self, but out 
of self, and in realizing the beauty of the poem, 
"We live in deeds, not years, 

In thoughts, not breaths, in feelings. 
Not in figures on a dial. He lives most 

Who thinks most — feels the noblest — acts the best." 

With a constant use of faculties and sympathies, the use- 
less ornament of a city drawing-room becomes the strong, 
the active, earnest woman. 

The hours were passing, the noise down street had ceased, 
and Tappan returned. He laughed as he said "No Mis- 
sourians yet. The company has returned from Easton, 
and the boys were giving them a salute." He said, 
moreover, that they had speeches, and went through 
certain military manceuvers, and finished off with a supper 
prepared for them. They encountered no difficulties by 
the way; the enemy having heard of their proposed visit, 
fled to Missouri, leaving a clear field. One of the men, 
who has been threatened very grievously by them, they 
found so strongly barricaded in his house, that the enemy 
could never have taken him. His wife and six sons com- 
pose the family. The old lady has all the fire, the spirit 
of a Spartan mother. 

Jan. 2jth. — Still another snow. No security from the 
murderous midnight assassin can be more sure than the 
heavily drifting snows which cover the whole country. 
Plans of a guerrilla warfare had been laid through the 
whole border. The murder of Brown and the invasion at 
Easton were the forerunners of intended attacks upon the 
whole territory. The leaders of the free-state party being 



2IO KANSAS. 

destroyed, they calculated upon an easy victory over the 
remainder. A letter of Atchison, written just before the 
murder of Brown, reveals the plan. The following are a 
few extracts from it: 

* * * "We are in a constant state of excitement here 
(Platte City). The 'border ruffians' have access t?D my 
room day and night. The very air is full of rumors. We 
wish to keep ourselves right before the world, and we are 
provoked and aggravated beyond sufferance. Our persons 
and property are not for a moment safe; and yet we are 
forbid, by the respect we owe our friends elsewhere, by 
respect for the cause in which we are engaged, to forbear. 
This state of things cannot last. You are authorized to 
publish the whole or a part of what I have written; but if 
Georgia intends to do anything, or can do anything for us, 
let it be done speedily! 

"Let your young men come forth to Missouri and Kan- 
sas. Let them come well armed, with mone}' enough to 
support them for twelve months, and determined to see 
this thing out! One hundred true men will be an acquisi- 
tion. The more the better. I do not see how we are to 
avoid civil war; come it will. Twelve months will not 
elapse before war — civil war of the fiercest kind — will be 
upon us. We are arming and preparing for it. Indeed, 
we of the border counties are prepared. We must have 
the support of the South. We are fighting the battles of 
the South. Our institutions are at stake. You far south- 
ern men are now out of the nave of the war, but, if we 
fail, it will reach your own doors, perhaps your hearths. 
We \tant men, armed men. We want money — not for our- 
selves, but to support our friends who may come from a 
distance. I have now in this house two gallant young men 
from Charleston, S. C. They are citizens of Kansas, and 
will remain so until her destiny is fixed. 

"Let your young men come on in squads as fast as they 
can be raised, well armed. We want none but true men. 
Yours truly, D. R. Atchison. 



WINTER IN THE TERRITORY — STATE LEGISLATURE. 211 

"P. S. — I would not be astonished if this day laid the 
ground-work for a guerrilla war in Kansas. I have heard of 
rumors of strife and battle at Leavenworth, seven miles 
from this place, but the ice is running in the Missouri 
river, and I have nothing definite. I was a peace-maker 
in the difficult}' lately settled by Gov. Shannon. I coun- 
selled the 'ruffians' to forbearance, but I will never again 
counsel peace. D. R. A." 

It is Sunday to-day. We hear no pleasant sound of 
church-going bell, but instead, the pounding on the little 
cabin's in the forts. The hotel is again turned into bar- 
racks, and through the driving snow we see the sentinel at 
his post. Rough times our men see. Strong hearts and 
brave hands have come in to strengthen the town, leaving, 
in the rude cabins at home, wife and little ones without 
protector. The officers in the council-room sleep on the 
floor, or rude settees, when their tired energies must have 
some respite. Our people have great faith, great hope; 
nothing but these could keep them so brave, so full of 
courage, when dangers lurk around. 

A gentleman just returned from a town south, some 
miles, said, "I have been in many cabins where there was 
no floor, and the snow came in at ever\' crevice, and the 
cold was intense, yet I have seen a wonderful cheerfulness 
everywhere." The}' endure present suffering, and forego 
present camforts, in hope of an hour when the battlements 
of freedom shall be raised high and strong, and out of the rich 
and fertile earth shall arise pleasant homes, at the bidding 
of free labor. Their faith is more potent than that of the 
children of the wilderness, who looked to the brazen 
serpent for healing. 

Some gentlemen were in yesterday from a neighboring 
settlement which has been threatened by Missourians. 
Signals are agreed upon, so that, should an attack- be made 
there or here, mutual and speedy assistance might be ren- 
dered. 



Pistols He around the room loaded, and rifles are stand- 
ing in safe places. How strange to our eastern friends 
would seem this familiarity with fire-arms, and stranger yet 
the necessit}^ of carrying them to our sleeping apartments, 
and carefully watching them lest any dampness cause 
them to corrode! 

The last thought of our waking hours is now the possi- 
bility that ere the morning's gray light the tiendish yells of 
the brutal assassins may be heard at our own doors, crying 
for blood. But we sleep with the same quietude as in 
dear old New England homes, where safety was the rule, 
and crime was met by swift-footed justice. Everi this 
sense of insecurity is not without its use, for, with the 
early waking, comes a deep sense of thankfulness for 
another night safely passed, our home and friends still 
spared. 

Feb. loth. — Still cold. How the weather prophets have 
all spoken falsely! The Indians and traders, who have lived 
many years in the country, have never seen a winter like 
this. Many people have frozen their feet, so that for 
weeks they have been unable to walk. The general hilarity 
of the young people has not, however, been prevented by 
it. Sicoxie's dwelling, across the river, has been open to 
visitors from Lawrence, and an occasional party, of a win- 
ter's evening, has shared the hospitalities of his house. 

The Delawares are daily in our streets, and, with their 
gay dress, half-civilized, retaining always the Indian blan- 
ket, add a pleasant variety. Other tribes, less civilized, 
driven by the cold to winter near a settlement, have pitched 
their tents on the further bank of the Kansas. They also 
buy their provisions here, and pack them on ponies in 
bags. The poor little human, too, is encased in a red 
flannel bag, and carried on the back of the mothers. 

People are now getting out ice for the next summer's 
heat. Several hundred tons are already cut. Those who 
work at it look oddly with their dress, half Indian, adopt- 
ing blankets, leggins, and moccasins, as very conducive to 



WINTER IN THE TERRITORY — STATE LEGISLATURE. 213 

comfort, while gloves, mittens and neck comforters, are the 
relics of a former civilization. As the part}' starts off, 
the\' might be mistaken for voyagcitrs to the polar regions. 

There was a wedding, yesterday, of rather novel charac- 
ter. Early in the autumn a man of some forty-five years 
of age came to Lawrence. A few more weeks passed, and 
sickness came to him, then death. He left a widow, over 
whose head scarcel}' eighteen summers had flown, to whom 
he was married just before coming here. Yesterday a 
second marriage was contracted. How full of change is 
life, and how in such a case as this the affairs of life jostle 
each other! 

Tappan came up from town this afternoon saying, 
"Lawrence is to be attacked on the morrow!" The found- 
ation of this present rumor rests upon the conversation of 
a pro-slavery resident near Lawrence, and a stranger, which 
was overheard b}' one of our citizens. Tappan brought up 
quite a quantity of lead, and busied himself a while running 
bullets. 

We are much amused by the eastern newspaper accounts 
of the Kansas war, especially the part taken in it by the 
ladies. One would suppose, from reading these, that all 
the women had given up all the duties of life usually 
assigned them, and armed with rifles and revolvers, with 
bravado and threats, were ready at all times to resent 
injuries by an appeal to the former. Whereas, with the 
exception of a dozen ladies, more or less, who have busied 
themselves in making cartridges, most of us have had sufiti- 
cient employment in the accumulated duties of our own 
households, in preparing for an unwonted number of 
guests. Some, far removed in the country, have manifest- 
ed their sympathies by busily engaging in the baking of 
bread for the soldiers. 

Lawrence and vicinity, numbering some fifteen hundred 
inhabitants, boasts many fair ladies; more who combine 
the advantages of personal beauty with intellectual merit, 
than in any place I ever lived. Our friends east need have 



214 KANSAS. 

no fears that in this "roughing it," not only with the nec- 
essary inconveniences, and inelegancies, of a new country, 
but with the tyrannous acts of a vile administration's tools, 
that they have lost any of the instinctive gentleness or 
modesty of women. Firmness and a purer love of justice 
have been the gain of many. The acts of one woman here 
have probably given rise to the false impression which has 
gone over the country. Sheriff Jones made the arrest of a 
resident of Lawrence, after a previous unsuccessful at- 
tempt, Mrs Buffam threatened to shoot the sheriff if he 
attempted to arrest her husband, and with pistol cocked 
gave sufficient proof of her sincerity in this determination; 
enough certainly to satisfy the sheriff, who was effectually 
cowed, and, amid the laugh of the bystanders, turned away 
muttering, he "had rather face an army of men then one 
furious woman." During the war, too, she had evinced 
her boldness on several occasions. 

Statements of this kind have, probably, in the minds of 
many, given a wrong coloring to the actual character of 
the womanly element here; when, on coming, they might 
expect to meet a real Amazon, or Jeanne d'Arc, they would 
be disappointed to see still uppermost the native refine- 
ment, sensibility, and modest dignity of a true woman. 

22d. — No attack yet made upon us. In spite of all the 
talk, and all the marshalling of armed men in the border 
towns, we awake each morning, with wonder, to say "we 
still live." We might, however, have lived in greater 
security, had the mighty genius, who made these words 
memorable in his last hours, been ever true to the instincts 
of his great nature; had he in his declining days spoken 
honest words for freedom, as in his life's morning, or in its 
noon of splendor. "Lawrence is" not "in ashes," and her 
citizens still go unhung, notwithstanding the efforts of 
government officials to the contrary. 

The following are the exact copies of letters from Gov. 
Shannon to the murderer of Barber, Gen. George W. Clark, 
Indian Agent, and will show the direction of his efforts: 



winter in the territory state legislature. 215 

"Executive Office, ) 

Shawnee Mission, K. T., Jan. 4, 1856. j 

"My Dear Sir: Your two last favors are received; and 
I regret exceedingly to hear of your unpleasant situation. 
I hope things will grow better. The evidence you speak 
of must satisfy every one that you did not kill Barber. 
This difficulty out of the way, I hope you will have nothing 
to fear. I think that all organizations to take the law into 
the hands of self-constituted judges or conservatives of the 
peacfe will only lead to bad consequences. The other 
party will do the same by the way of retaliation, and no one 
will know when he is safe. I am glad to learn that you 
discourage all such movements. 

"I will leave in the morning for Washington City, stop- 
ping some days at home on my way. I shall urge upon 
the President the policy of stationing a company of United 
States troops in Lecompton, or such other place in that 
region as you may all think best. I shall also urge on 
him the policy of quietly stationing a company at Topeka 
about the middle of February next. The free-state gov- 
ernment, you know, is to be inaugurated on the 4th of 
March, and the Legislature at that time Avill commence its 
session. The President has the power to station the troops 
at any place he sees proper, and there will be no necessity 
of his saying for what purpose he stations a company at 
Topeka. It will be looked upon by the free-state men as 
a significant sign, and may induce them to pause in their 
mad career of folly and treason. 

"I would be glad if you would Avrite to your friends in 
Congress, and get them to back me up in what I may seek 
to accomplish for the territory. Moreover, I desire to see 
and talk with the leading men of the South in relation to 
matters in this territory. I wish to post them on the real 
state of things out here, and what the South must do the 
coming year, or lose all dominion in a few years in the 
affairs of the republic. 

"Write me frequently at ^^'ashing■ton City, to the care 



2l6 KANSAS. 

of Gen. Whitfield. Post me at least once or twice a week 
as to all that is going on out here. I shall feel great solic- 
itude as to the state of things in Kansas while I am gone. 
"Yours with great respect, 

"Wilson Shannon. 
"George W. Clark, Esq." 

The other brief epistle was filed "Gov. Shannon. Dec. 3, 
1855. Advice to join the army with public funds." It is 
as follows: 

"Executive Office. ) 

Shawnee Mission, K. T., Dec. 3. 1855. \ 
"Mv Dear Sir: I think you had better join the com- 
mand of Col. Childs or Gen. Richardson with your money. 
It is unsafe to remain at your house with so large an 
amount of money. Yours, etc.. 

"Wilson Shannon. 
"Major Clark." 

The President, with the most abject servility to the slave 
power, has issued his anathemas against us. So base a 
document as his special message never before emanated 
from the White House. Has he read all history aright to 
suppose such bondage as this will not break its own chain? 
He talks of "treason." Treason against what? Not the 
United States surely, as, with earnestness stating our man- 
ifold and outrageous wrongs, we ask to be admitted into 
the sisterhood of states. Himself imbecile as the head of 
the government, he has bowed himself to the trappings of 
office. Stupid with the lust of power, and paving his way 
with the blood, the tears, the woes of Kansas, he has 
answered the question, "For Avhat will a man sell his own 
soul?" Southern votes. Traitor to the mother who bore 
him, to his native state, to his country, and his God. when 
this great and mighty people shall arise from the blindness 
of their unparalleled prosperity, and break the bands of 



WINTER IX THE TERRITORY ^STATE LEGISLATURE. 21" 

evil as tender withes, then shall he. calling upon the moun- 
tains even of his own state, find no place deep enough, no 
covert broad enough, to hide his shame; but in the annals 
of our country's history will this dark page be written, and 
he, the chosen guardian of the people's rights, shall wear 
the crowning infamy. It shall remain as a beacon light, 
as a warning to all seeking office, like the flaming sword 
guarding the entrance to Eden, that they sell not their 
honor, their principles, their very souls even. "So fallen. 
so lost!" the pitying heart cries. 

This evening of the 22d of February witnesses a gather- 
ing in honor of our first President, "whom the nation 
delights to honor." In strange contrast will his integrity, 
his uprightness, and his abiding hold upon the people's 
love, go down to posterity with the hollow-hearted truckling. 
the treachery, the imbecility, of the present incumbent of 
the presidential chair. The truth is again clearly main- 
tained that justice sways the world. 

Co. A gave the party to-night, and many were there to 
partake of their hospitality, notwithstanding the inclem- 
ency of the weather. Co. A are our strong defenders. At 
a moment's w^arning they are ready for any perils which 
endanger us. Much praise is due them for their unwaver- 
ing courage and steadfast zeal when the rays of hope in 
other quarters have been few and flickering. They have 
taken to themselves the name of "Stubs." not particularly 
euphonious, but suggestive of their stature. A song has 
also been prepared by some of them, which they sang to- 
night, giving zest to the other amusements of the evening. 
It is in ballad style, sung as a solo by one fine voice, while 
all join in the chorus. 

24t/i. — How genial the air is to-day! The icy bands 
upon the river have fairly given away, and the fast dissolv- 
ing snows say loudly that spring is here. The golden haze 
of last evening, through which the setting sunbeams lin- 
gered and bloated, spreading a halo of singular loveliness 
over this unrivalled landscape, gave a promise of warmer 



2l8 KANSAS. 

days. "The days of the singing-birds have come." With 
the life-giving days of spring, how could we hope for peace 
and tranquility? Yet there is no just ground for such hope. 
Companies of mounted riflemen have been forming along 
the border; and a late "Independence Despatch" states that 
the militia of the border counties of Missouri are to rendez- 
vous at Fort Scott, in this territory, on the 2gth of Febru- 
ary. Atchison also, a few days since, in his speech at 
Platte City, called upon his friends to "hold themselves in 
readiness against the 4th of INIarch." as then "there would 
be a new invasion of the territory." The "six weeks," 
which Jones pledged upon his honor should be free |rom 
invasion are nearly over. A gentleman of Easton has 
received a threatening letter from his pro-slavery neighbors, 
warning him to leave. Everything looks threatening. 

March 4th — The doctor, with many more from Law- 
rence, left for Topeka yesterday, as the Legislature meets 
to-day. Lawrence is really deserted. Judge Elmore has, 
in conversation with the leaders of the free-state party, 
expressed strong desires that the members should not take 
the oath of office, as such an act would be considered trea- 
sonable, and they would be immediately arrested. Letters 
written from Washington also say that it is the design of 
the President to carry this matter thus far. By failing to 
take the oath of office, the present free-state constitution 
would be of no account. Mr. Grover has just been in, 
who reports a member of the Legislature arrived an hour 
since from Washington. He says the United States Mar- 
shal is on his way to Topeka, to arrest all who take the 
oath of office. He wishes to be arrested with the others, 
and will leave for Topeka this evening. 

A strange farce this, of arresting freemen for no sin but 
a desire to maintain their rights as freemen, and for doing 
what California and Michigan have done before us. No 
iron rule bound tliciii down likr thu liatfful tyranny^crush- 
ing Kansas. 

Were it not lor tliese continual attempts on the part of 



WINTER IN THE TERRITORV STATE LE(;iSLATURE. 2ig 

government to oppress us, Kansas would be peopled with 
a rapidity unprecedented in the settlement of any state. 
Her genial climate and rich soil offers attractions, while 
the class of people emigrating here afford the inducements 
of society, as intelligent and refined as any in the states. 

Four religious societies have already been formed in 
Lawrence, and churches will this summer be erected. 
\\'ith the reviving of business this spring, a circulating 
library has been opened, where its members can find 
standard works, new books and publications, as soon as 
issued. There is also a bookstore, where the busy reader 
can suit his taste. The parish library connected with 
the Unitarian Church is large and valuable, and, when the 
room is ready for its reception, will form a valuable acqui- 
sition. With other settlements there have been similar 
organizations and means for improvement. 

Beside Lawrence there are six other settlements, mostly 
eastern. Osawatomie, at the junction of the Pottawatomie 
and Marais des Cygnes, w^hich at that point takes the name of 
the Osage, is most pleasantly located. It derives its name 
from a fanciful clipping and mingling together of the words, 
Pottawatomie and Osage. A pleasing variety of prairie 
and woodland marks the spot. Though the first settle- 
ment was made only a year since, with its large mill and 
enterprising people it bids fair to be a prominent point in 
the territory. 

Hampden is still further south, and, notwithstanding the 
sickness which came so severely among them last year, its 
surpassing richness of soil and heavy timber, as well as its 
central position in the southern part of the territory, will 
induce many to locate in the region. 

Topeka, the third town in size, is situated twenty-live 
miles above Lawrence, on the Kansas. The principal part 
of the town is about a fourth of a mile from the river, on 
the high prairie, which slopes gently to the shore. Web- 
ster Peak rises some four miles in the distance south, 
while the lands of the Pottawatomie are but five miles 



220 KANSAS. 

away. The first settlement was made in December of 1854, 
by some members of the fifth party. When the spring 
opened emigration poured in there. Constitution Hall, a 
large hotel, several stores, and dwelling-houses of w^ood, 
brick and stone, show clearly their Yankee origin, and that 
in coming to the West they had not forgotten thrift and 
enterprise. 

Wabaunsee is forty miles above Topeka, also on the Kan- 
sas river, while Mill Creek flows into it at this point. This 
location, which has many admirers, both for its surround- 
ings of hill and plain, and richness of soil, was selected as 
a town site in the fall of 1854, by the fourth party, w^hich 
came from New England. (The New Haven Company 
have since located there. ) 

Manhattan, at the junction of the Big Blue and Kansas, 
is seventy-five miles west of Lawrence, and eighteen from 
Fort Riley. It was also decided upon as a good location 
for a town by a portion of the fourth New England party. 

Their numbers were strengthened in the spring of 1855 
by the company from Providence, and afterwards by a 
company from Cincinnati, called the Manhattan Company. 
It has a very fine location upon the high prairie, with a 
bold prominence of singular beauty near by, upon whose 
sides dwarf cedars grow. Finely rolling prairies extend 
back of the town about four miles, where high bluffs sur- 
round all like a strong fortress. Being near the fort, and 
in the midst of a rich farming country, the productiveness 
of the soil for years must repay in large measure all labor 
bestowed upon it. A friend who located not many miles 
from Manhattan in the spring, and cultivated a few acres, 
in the fall found himself the possessor of one thousand 
dollars more than when he camu. He sold at the fort 
whatever he raised, at large prices. As all supplies for the 
fort at present are brought from Missouri, near one hun- 
dred and fifty miles, it must furnish a market for the fruits 
of the earth, could they be raised near by. 

Council city, about forty miles southwest of Lawrence, 



WINTER IX THE TERRITORV STATE LEGISLATURE 



221 



and a few miles from the Santa Fe road, under the auspices 
of the New York Settlement Co., is situated upon the head 
waters of the Osage. A pleasant population are gathered 
there upon the half-mile claims. A lady of intelligence, 
residing there a few months, told me she had become very 
much attached to the people, and on no account would 
retvun to her old home, near New York city. Mills are 
being erected, and when they are in operation, as at the 
other settlements, nothing but quiet is needed for it and 
them to increase in population, in intelligence and wealth. 
Let Peace spread her broad wings over us, and no one can 
estimate the human tide sweeping westward which will be 
turned into these channels. 

i6th. — The following are the names of state officers and 
members of Senate and House, elected under the State 
Constitution: 



C. Robinson, Governor. 

W. Y. Roberts, Lt. Gov. 

S. N. Latta, \ 

Supreme 

Judges. 



M. F. Conway, 

M. Hunt, 

J. A. Wakefield, Treasurer. 

Members of Senate 



P. C. Schuyler, Seeretary. 
G. A. Cutter, Auditor. 
E. M. Thnrston, Rep. of Sp. Ct. 
S. B. Floyd, Clerk of Sp. Ct. 
J. Speer, State Printer. 



Adams, 

J. M. Cole, 
J. Curtis, 
J. Daily, 
— ■ — Dunn, 
L. Fish, 
P. Fuller, 



S. N. Hartwell, 
J. B. Abbott, 
John Hutchinson, 
H. F. Saunders, 
James Blood, 



J. C. Green, 
B. Harding, 
G. S. Hillyer, 
H. M. Hook, 
J. M. Irvin, 
D. E. Jones, 

Representatives. 
David Rees, 
D. W. Cannon, 
Isaac Landers, 
J. AI. Arthur, 
Thos. Bowen, 



S. B. McKenzie, 
B. W. Miller, 
J. H. Pillsbury, 
G. R. Rhaum, 
T. G. Thornton, 
W. W. Updegraff. 



D. Toothman, 
J. D. Adams, 
Abraham Barre, 
Wm. McClure, 
T. \V. Piatt, 



KANSAS. 



C. Hornsby. 

E. B. Purdam. 

J. McGee, 

M. C. Dickey, 

W. R. Frost, 

W. A. Simmerwell, 

S. McWinney, 

S. T. Shores, 

S. R. Baldwin, 

Wm. Bayliss, 

A. D. Jones, 

E. R. Zimmerman, 

J. W. Stevens, 

Wm. Crosby, 



H. B. Standiford. 
H. H. Williams. 
J. Brown, Jr. 
Isaac B. Higgins, 
H. W. Tabor. 
Henry Todd, 
T. J. Addis, 
A. B. Marshal. 
J. Hornby, 
W. B. Burnett, 
J. K. Edsaiil. 
S. Sparks, 
L. P. Patty. 
S. J. Campbell. 



Richard ^Murphy. 
J. B. Wetson, 
Rees F'urby, 
Wm. Hicks, 
\\^m. B. Wade, 
B. H. Brock. 
B. R. Martin. 
A. Jameson. 
John Landis. 
R. P. Brown. 

F. A. Minard, 

G. Goslin, 
A. Fisher, 
Isaac Cady. 



The election for these offices was holden on the 15th 
JaiKuary; on the same day M. W. Delahay was chosen rep- 
resentative to Congress. 

The Legislature was organized on the 4th. and the state 
officers took the oath of office. Everything was quiet at 
Topeka. No attempts were made to arrest any one, al- 
though Sheriff Jones and a deputy marshal were there to 
witness the inaugural ceremonies of the new state govern- 
ment. W'ith the exception of the fears of one of the mem- 
bers, harshly wrought upon by some lo\'ers of mischief, 
there was nothing exciting. Yesterday, a friend arrived 
from the East. He came up from Kansas City in company 
with some of the office-holders under government. They 
were particularly anxious that the free-state government 
should not be organized. He also came up just in the 
wake of Gov. Shannon. He is. according to his report, 
highly spoken of by all the bar-tenders and others on the 
way, and had a grand reception at Lexington — which sig- 
nifies, without any adornings of word or sentiment, ''one 
big drunk." 

Rumors ca'me in to-night that a box of Sharpe's rifles, 
consigned to the territory, have been taken off the boat at 



WINTER IN THE TERRITORY STATE LEGISLATURE. 223 

Lexington and placed in the warehouse to await Governor 
Shannon's orders. Rumors fly as fast as autumn leaves, 
and we scarcely know what to believe. If, however, they 
have taken them, they will be useless to them as the slides 
are understood to be in another place, and it will puzzle 
them quite as much to use a rifle open at both ends as it 
did the one they threw away in December as useless, be- 
cause there was no ramrod. 

31st. — The last of March, and still all quiet. The grass 
is growing everywhere, and the tiny flower-bells, adder's 
tongue, sway gently in every breeze. In many places 
they spring up without leaves, and in the dusty roads. 

Doctor left on the 24th for Washington, at noon, only 
thinking of going an hour or two before. The 26th wit- 
nessed the laying of the corner-stone of the Unitarian 
church with impressive exercises. Ministers of different 
denominations took part in the service. Many people of 
various beliefs, were there, as the first church was planted 
in the wilderness, and a common interest was pervading all 
classes. Beneath the corner-stone \vere laid copies of 
several papers in the territory, a sketch of Lawrence, and 
other articles of interest. 

Gov. Shannon has returned to Lecompton. and Mr. Hoyt, 
in whose charge were the rifles, has waited on him in refer- 
ence to their being restored. The poor governor is in a 
dilemma, neither horn of wdiich he thinks quite safe. Shall 
he please border ruffians, or restore property to its rightful 
owners? Fear weighs down the scale on the border ruffian 
side, and the sage decision is, the guns must remain in 
Lexington. 

The little boy, son of Reverend Knight, who had so 
much water to carry, errands to do, and so many times has 
come into the house nearly frozen, is dead. He was delir- 
ious a few- hours and died. Startling as the intelligence 
was to us, in the dreary shadows of twilight, not having 
heard of his illness, and only three evenings since he had 
made us a longer call than usual, there was mingled a 



224 KANSAS. 

sense of relief. There was a broken-spiritedness about 
the boy which was difficult to account for and is not natural 
to childhood. 

Many houses are going up, and. every time we drive 
down, some new building or fence closes up the old travel- 
led road. Men are digging at the quarries above us, and 
teams continually going up and down both sides of the 
house for buildings in town, and for the church half down 
the hill. We had recently had a house moved quarter of 
a mile to join our premises. It will be most conducive to 
our comfort, and that of our frecpient lodgers. 

Our house is at last completed, amid all the confusion of 
lathers, plasterers, paperers, and varnishers, with company 
all of the time, spending the day, the week, or longer. 
When the noise has been too unendurable, the horses and 
carriage have been put in requisition, and a ride over the 
beautiful prairies been enjoyed by our guests. 

The house is entirely of black walnut; the finish, doors, 
window-casings, and mantels, of the same, all finely pol- 
ished. The paper of white satin, with a neat fiower, in 
one room, while pretty wood-colors, in rosebuds and leaves, 
cover other walls, and give the whole a pleasing contrast. 
The furniture is mostly of the same wood, in pretty styles, 
while library, seraphine, pictures, which I prize both for 
their beauty and my long vested rights in them, with many 
other treasures of my girlhood, make this new home seem 
indeed like the old one, though so far transplanted. I 
would exchange its simplicity for no place where art and 
splendor have sway, while possessor of such living beauty 
as spreads itself around us. 

In my drives of the last few weeks circumstances have 
brought me in contact with people of various mould, and I 
have been a learner of life by contrasts. The illness of a 
lady, Mrs. Coleman, called me to the low door of her 
dwelling. It was built against a rock in a side hill, that 
forming one side. Logs and thatch completed the remain- 
ing sides and roof. The inside had the same rough aspect. 



WINTER IN THE TERRITORY STATE LEGISLATURE. 225 

Rude tables, of home-made manufacture, and three-legged 
stools, with one rocking-chair, completed the furniture. 
Several little children, neatly though poorly dressed, clung 
around the sad-looking mother, upon whose brow care had 
furrowed deep lines; but whose manner and appearance 
betokened better days than these, in the past. Altliough 
ill, she was performing some domestic drudgery. She had 
friends east who would feel sadly did they know the cir- 
cumstances which surrounded her here. The trials of the 
Kansas home had been many, yet she was still hopeful. 
Assuring her that anything we could do for her comfort 
should be gladly done, and thinking what a sad, thorny 
way the life-path is to many, we bade her '*good-by. " 

Another day our fleet horses took our guests and us to 
see a person whose acquaintance was formed on the river, 
who was now boarding about six miles from Lawrence. 
The carriage halted in front of a large cabin, or two cabins 
rather, the space which is usually left open between them 
being made into a broad hall. George said, '-This is 
Judge Wakefield's." The lady whom we came to see 
opened the door before we reached it, being glad to see a 
familiar face. She was very pretty and intelligent, and 
the mother's heart could be seen in the soul-full eye as she 
caressed the little boy of a twelvemonth. Their home had 
been Wisconsin, while her husband was from the aristo- 
cratic old state of \'irginia, and of a gentlemanly, dignified 
bearing. 

This house is a home for travelers, and its capacious 
rooms were now full. Young mothers with their little 
children sat by the hre, and looked weary with their travels, 
Supper, too, was being prepared for the old judge, who 
came in from Lawrence, and with cheerful words, always 
so full of humor, greeted us as he distributed the letters he 
had brought from there. The beds were partitioned 
from this common sitting-room by long curtains. Baskets 
were hanging on poles over our heads, and bags of most 
capacious size were suspended from the walls, while meat 



2 26 KANSAS. 

and other articles for cooking found a place in the room. 
Judge Wakefield is from Iowa, and has been, since his 
first coming here, one of the standard-bearers in freedom's 
army. 

As we were returning", we met a very youthful lady and 
her husband, who have had some of the romance of life, 
and who are testing the sweets of not exactly love in a 
cottage, but love in a log-cabin, on the wide prairies. The 
lady was from a wealthy family in Cincinnati. Her friends 
opposed her in the choice of a husband, and while from 
home, at boarding school, the marriage ceremony was 
performed, the young husband leaving the same day for 
Kansas. Some months after, when she had made known 
to her friends that she was already married, she also came. 

A gentleman, Prof. Daniels, from Wisconsin, was here 
in the early part of the month. He came to examine the 
country, its inducements to settlers, with reference to the 
sending out of a large company from Wisconsin. As he 
wished to meet the people of Lawrence, a reception had 
been proposed. The last afternoon of his visit had arrived, 
and the gentlemen in whose hands the arrangements had 
been left, declared themselves unable to accomplish any- 
thing on so short notice. Two of our ladies then took the 
matter in charge, and the evening found some one hundred 
persons assembled in a large hall, with refreshments of 
cake, nuts, fruit, and lemonade, provided. 

A few days after, the NeAV Haven company, sometimes 
called the Beecher Rifle company, arrived. They must 
have a welcome and the right hand of fellowship extended 
to them by our people. The hall was filled to its utmost 
capacity, and as our people briefly recounted the history 
of their stay here, their dangers and perils, they offered lo 
the newly arrived people the blessings of the civilization 
which a year and a half has wrought; while they offer, with 
the shield of an unwasted hope, and the buckler of un- 
wearied energies, to stand by us in hours when evil shall 
threaten our liberties. Pleasantly thus the hours passed 



WINIKR IN THE TERRITORY STATE LEGISLATURE. 227 

away, and the '-Stubs" were loudly called for to close the 
assembly with their song. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION "SHERIFF JONES" SHOT. 

The second month of spring was quickly passing awaj', 
and quiet reigned, — a quiet which seemed almost fearful 
from the very stillness. Since the threats of arrest in the 
early part of March, the voice of Missouri had been mostly 
silent. Save the oaths and imprecations which still fall on' 
the ear, on passing her citizens, and an occasional opening 
of boxes designed for the territory, at Kansas City, there 
has been no outrage, and the press is silent as to her plans. 
Notwithstanding the persevering efforts of Douglas, the 
champion of the slave power, and the no less zealous 
exertions of Missouri's representatives, who hesitated not 
to utter untruths, declaring that no one came from Missouri 
to vote, — one of them, at least, being present at the elt^c- 
tion, — a committee has been appointed to investigate the 
wrongs of which Kansas has complained to Congress. 
We, as well as our eastern friends, anticipated that (juiet 
would continue while the investigation was entered into; 
that, from motives of policy alone, the enemy would hide 
in their lair, and attempt to gain the favor of the committee 
bv a present show of fairness. Emigration was again 
pouring into the territory; a company of one hundred, 
froui Ohio, had just arrived, while the camp-fires at even- 
ing, and the white-covered wagons of the western emigrant 
dotting the highways, told of a general desire to make 
one's self a home in Kansas. 

About the 17th of April the commissioners arrived from 
Washington: William Howard of Detroit, John Sherman 



COMMITIEE OF INVESTIGATION, ETC. 229 

ot Ohio, and Mordecai Oliver, of Missouri, and their 
suite — secretaries, reporters and sergeant at arms. The 
hotel, which we had long waited for, was nearly finished, 
and rooms for their accommodation were put in order by 
our people, before the proprietor of the hotel could get his 
furniture up from Kansas City. The commissioners went 
to Lecompton, and spent two or three days in copying the 
records of the elections from official books kept there. 

On the 19th, Sheriff Jones, who has from the first seemed 
to be the apple of discord among us, his presence at once 
making tumult of quiet, again appeared in our midst, and 
attempted to arrest S. N. Wood, just returned from Ohio, 
after a winter's sojourn. He said to Wood, "Yo'u are my 
prisoner." 

"By what authority?" was the very natural reply. 

"As Sheriff of Douglas County." 

"I do not recognize such authority," said Wood, 
adding, however, that he would go with him if he would 
allow him to go to his house, only a few steps distant, first. 

This the sheriff refused, and Wood declared, "Then I'll 
not go with you at all!" and very coolly walked away. 

Jones walked away also, minus a pistol, which had 
passed from his pocket. The whole affair only lasted two 
or three minutes. 

The next day Jones came in town again to disturb the 
Sabbath's quiet, and arrest somebody. He was accom- 
panied by four men from Lecompton, and he called upon 
a number of our citizens standing by to act as a posse, in 
assisting in the arrest of Wood. These citizens were 
looking on, simply, and it was an established fact, when- 
ever Jones was seen in the streets of Lawrence, that some- 
thing rich would happen, and, involuntarily, almost, they 
gathered around to see. 

Jones looked for Wood in his house; but he was not 
there. Seeing Tappan, another of the Branson rescuers, 
standing by, and who had made the attempt to carry his 
own case to the Supreme Court, but had never been able 



230 KANSAS. 

to get a hearing at Leconipton, Jones pounced upon him. 
He took hold of him so fiercely, Tappan thought it was 
his intention to knock hhii down; so, forgetting his non- 
resistance, he struck Jones, whereupon the bold sheriff, 
with his comrades, left for Lecompton, muttering, however, 
"he would bring in the troops, and the arrests should be 
made. He had now some forty names on his paper, 
against whom warrants should be served." 

The following letter, written by Jones to Marshal Don- 
aldson, shows that the attempt to arrest Wood was made 
without a shadow even of territorial law: 

"Lecompton, April 20, 1856. 
"Major I. B. Donaldson: — My Dear Sir: Samuel N. 
Wood is now in Lavv^rence, and I wish you to send me the 
writ against him. I arrested him on yesterday and he was 
rescued from my hands by a mob. The governor has 
called upon Col. Sumner for a company to assist me in the 
execution of the laws. I will have writs gotten out against 
Robinson, and some twenty others. 

"In haste, Yr obs. 

S. J. Jones." 

The committee of investigation finished their work at 
Lecompton on Tuesda}', the 22d, and returned to Lawrence 
the afternoon of that day. This first effort of theirs, 
showing clearly that the work of investigation would be 
carried on systematically, struck terror into the heart of 
wrong-doers. That all their labors hitherto might not be 
foiled at one blow, they felt that a desperate effort must 
be made to break up the sittings of the committee, and the 
plan unfolded itself. 

Also, on the afternoon of the 22d, word came into Law- 
r<^iice that a band of men were encamped in the timber 
across the river. Two messengers immediately went out 
from Lawrence to see if there was truth in the statement, 
ami returned, not only to verify it, but the bloody character 



COiSIMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION, ETC. 23 1 

of the gang. One of our messengers was fired upon, and 
only escaped falling into their hands by quickly plunging 
into a ravine until they, in their search, had passed by. 
They were men from Lecompton and vicinity, and were 
stationed there to intercept any persons who should attempt 
to escape from the bogus sheriff. 

On Wednesday, 23d, the committee commenced exam- 
ining witnesses in reference to the invasions. Dr. String- 
tellow, Capt. Martin, of the Kickapoo Rangers, and others 
oi like character, were in town. Some twelve came with 
Gen. Whitfield. In the afternoon of the 23d, the redoubt- 
able sheriff, with authority vested in ten soldiers, under 
command of Lieut. Mcintosh, following, again came into 
Lawrence. Without the least resistance on the part of 
any, six men, not implicated in the rescue of Branson, bur 
having arrested no one to place in Mr. Jones' custody, were 
taken prisoners. They were lodged in a small building on 
the street, under the guard of the dragoons, and the sheriff 
occupied the tent of the officers, instead of going to th',- 
Cincinnati House, as usual. 

In the evening the choir met at our house for a rehearsal. 
At about nine and a half o'clock Tappan came in. As the 
rest were singing, and scarcely noticed his coming in, I 
said to him, "Why, where did you come from? I 
thought you were in a safer place than. Lawrence for res- 
cuers." 

He replied, "I have been out of town to-day; but I 
thought I would come over the hills to-night and write a 
letter." 

So, quickly getting him stationery and a light, he went 
out into another room to write. There was laughing and 
jesting among the singers, as they left soon after; a doubt 
arising whether they would all get to their homes safely, 
they having been on the street the day of the attempted 
arrest, and, as Jones had forty names, there was little 
reason to hope theirs were not in the list. 

Doctor carried two ladies to their homes, each two miles 



232 KANSAS. 

from ours, and a mile apart. Just after they had gone, 
two gentlemen came from town. One was a stranger to 
me, and the other was S. N. Wood. He too had been 
from town during the day, and had gone home for a 
night's rest, when he was aroused by the other gentleman. 
Thev said "Good-evening!" and walked in. Wood, espy- 
ing Tappan, who had finished his letter, and was about 
leaving for a safer residence than ours, said, "Well, 
Tappan, our best friend is shot." 

"Who?" was the question asked simultaneously by sev- 
eral voices; and Wood's reply, in the same solemn manner, 
"Sheriff Jones," startled us. Not because for him we had 
an_v esteem, any respect; but who was there in Lawrence 
that would take a brother's blood? Unlike the Missouri- 
ans, who shoot down inoffensive people with no more com- 
punctions than they would a wild partridge, they feel there 
is a sacredness in human life, and would not rashly 
assume the power of the avenger. 

The silence which momentarily followed was broken by 
the question, "Will he die?" 

"They say he cannot recover." 

The gentlemen waited until the doctor returned, and 
then went back to town. He at once recognized in it a 
plan to involve our people in difficult}'. It was either to 
be made the occasion of a new invasion, or at least to 
break up the sittings of the committee. 

Jones, while sitting in the tent, the outline of his figure 
being clearly revealed by the the light inside, was shot in 
I lie back. He fell to the ground, saying, "I am shot!" 
Some little time passed away before any physician saw 
him. At length Dr. Stringfellow was sent for, and the 
sheriff was removed to the hotel, into one of the rooms so 
lately fitted up, at the door of which a soldier stood on 
guard. Some physicians of Lawrence examined him that 
night and in the morning. The wound was between the 
right shoulder and spine. Though constantly groaning, 
Jones was able to turn himself in bed. Notwithstanding 



COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION, ETC. 233 

Gen. Whitfield's express to Missouri the next morning, 
with the intelligence that Jones was in a dying condition, 
he was removed to Franklin in the afternoon of the same 
day, accompanied by Gen. Whitfield and the friends who 
came with him, with an escort of dragoons. Gen. Whit- 
field declared it was not safe to remain in Lawrence; their 
lives were in peril; and he attempted to persuade the com- 
missioners also to remove, upon the plea that Lawrence 
was an unsafe place to hold their sessions; that his wit- 
nesses could not come into town without risk of losing 
their lives. He did not hesitate to say, "The commission 
was at an end; they might as well return to Washington." 
The brave general stopped a few days at Franklin, then 
went to Lecompton, and finally returned to take his seat 
before the committee, positively asserting that "he did not 
leave Lawrence through fear." 

Early in the afternoon of the day Jones was shot, a party 
of troops, who had been out in the Indian countr}', passed 
through town, and, having crossed the river, camped on the 
other shore. After the shooting, Lieut. Mcintosh sent an 
express for them to return to Lawrence, which the}- did 
that night or the next morning. 

The morning after the attack, our citizens called a meet- 
ing to take steps in regard to it. Speeches were made in 
reference to the whole matter, and the following resolu- 
tions, expressive of the sense of the meeting, were passed: 

^'Resolved, That the attempt made in our town, last 
evening, upon the life of S. J. Jones, Esq., while claiming 
to act as the sheriff of the county, was the isolated act of 
some malicious and evil-disposed individual, unexpected 
and unlocked for b}' our community, and unsustained by 
any portion of them. 

'■^Resolved, That, in the opinion of this community, it was 
a cowardl}' and atrocious outrage upon Mr. Jones, and an 
insult and injury to the public sentiment and reputation of 
our town, and a crime deserving condign punishment. 



234 KANSAS. 

^^Resolved, That notwithstanding the unpleasant relation 
which existed between Mr. Jones and our citizens, if the 
attack could have been foreseen, or considered at all prob- 
able, we would have neglected no means to prevent or 
defeat it. We deeply sympathize with the wounded man, 
and will afford him all the aid and comfort in our power. 

"■Resolved, That we deepl}- regret that the perpetrator of 
this deed is unknown; and, if known to us, we would un- 
hesitatingly expose and denounce him as the criminal. 

''Resolved, That it is duetto the reputation of our town, 
and loudly demanded by the deep and universal indigna- 
tion which pervades our community, that the guilty author 
should, if possible, be sought out and surrendered to justice. 

"■Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed, whose 
duty it shall be to investigate the circumstances connected 
with this deplorable occurrence, and, if possible, to ferret 
out the guilty agent; and pledge ourselves that, although 
not responsible as a community for this act of a depraved 
individual, we will use our best efforts to show to the world 
that we have no sympathy for crime in any shape, and are 
prepared to treat the perpetrators with that stern justice 
which shall not stop to inquire whether they are friends or 
foes." 

No sympathy was manifested for the cowardly act, and a 
committee was appointed to ferret out the assassin. Befoie 
the six prisoners were taken to Lecompton, efforts were 
made to arrest others of our citizens, in which they faileJ. 
Sam Salters acted as deputy sheriff. Some laughable in- 
cidents occurred, in consequence of these efforts. 

This attempt to arrest our citizens for no crime but look- 
ing on, with hands in their pockets, when Jones calls upon 
them to assist him, — the person he wishes to arrest beii'g 
missing, — is an outrage which arouses their indignation. 
They are not willing to be taken from their business, from 
their homes, to be imprisoned, or to recognize his authority 
in vexatious suits at law, by giving bail. Neither will tht y 
resist the United States government by an open resistance 



COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION, ETC. 235 

to the army and nav}', which President Pierce says shall 
enforce these laws; a course, however, which the territorial 
authorities have earnestly and anxiously desired they should 
take. The only way then left to escape from such arrests 
was to keep out of sight of the troops; and this for several 
days was done most effectually. 

Two young men, who had been stopping out of town for 
a day or two, came in one morning, thinking not to leave 
again, and were just flattering themselves of their present 
safety from molestation, when they saw the troops, with 
the notorious deputy, coming towards them. They quickly 
left all, and struck into the ravine west of the town; and, once 
in its friendly covert, they took different directions. The 
one whose course the troops followed, dropped his pistol 
as he ran, and, stopping to pick it up, he saw the deputy 
in advance of the troops, upon whom he was calling loudly 
to run. Mindful of the dignity of the United btates uni- 
form, the blue coats marched steadily on, not heeding his 
cry, and seeing the pistol again in the hand of the pursued, 
the sheriff seemed to regard the present as an opportune 
moment to take breath, and waited for them to come up. 
Whether the sight of the pistol may not have suggested 
such action, was but little doubtful. Be it as it may, suffi- 
cient time was given by the delay for our friend to make' 
good his escape, and in the intricacies of the ravines find a 
safe retreat. 

The same day another of the fugitives was sitting on the 
side of the hill above us, and did not perceive the troops 
until they were just upon him. He immediately started 
for our house, the sheriff calling, "Stop, or I'll shoot you!" 
Quickening his pace, he replied, "Shoot then!" and was 
soon at the house. As he passed through the back room, 
whose doors were opposite, he said, "I want to leave my 
rifle here, for I can't run with it." 

The troops were in sight; there was only time for me to 
ask, -'Will they take rifles if they see any here?" and for 
him to reply, "Yes, the sheriff may order them to." 



236 KANSAS. 

As the dragoons came so far down the hill that the house 
obstructed their vision of what was passing beyond, he 
slipped down the side hill north of us, and entered a little 
house, partly built, at the base. His wife, learning of his 
whereabouts, carried him his dinner, which he was leisurely 
enjoying, when the six prisoners, escorted by some eight 
or ten dragoons, passed by, on their way to Lecompton. 

As soon as he left the house, we saw the troops, w'ith 
Salters at their head, were fast coming, and Emily and I 
stowed away the rifles, — several being in the house, as the 
guard were again on their watch at night. I called to 
Emily, who was noting their progress then, and asked, 
"Are they really coming?" 

"Yes, they have taken the road leading to the house." 

"Will I have time to change my dress?" The question 
was prompted by a desire to appear in proper costume 
before such dignitaries. 

She replied, "No;" but had scarcely pronounced the 
word, before she said, "They are not coming. Salters has 
turned his horse down the hill." Running to the window, 
there they were, — President Pierce's army of subjugation, 
— going into the prairies. Salters had concluded to post- 
pone his call upon us until some other day. 

The next morning, before all of us had eaten breakfast, 
some who had come in late, and spent the night, thought 
they could venture down street thus early, and one of 
them had started down the hill. The others looking out, 
already saw the troops on the prairie, about a mile distant. 
A tap on tlie window, and a look in the direction to which 
a friendly hand pointed, was sufficient to bring the youth 
back. Hastily crowding into the pockets of the two cold 
meat, bread, cake, and apples, for their dinner, should 
they be where no dinner could be had, they started in an 
opposite direction from the one they had proposed earlier. 
By taking a circuitous route, they reached another house, 
Mr. Mallory's, where their welcome was always sure. 

Soon a gentleman came up on horseback. The move- 



COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION, ETC. 237 

nients of the troops could be seen so far from our house, 
that it was a good standing-point for observations. He 
had scarcely seated himself, before the dragoons, their 
sabres flashing in the sunlight, came prancing out of town, 
and took the road which led near his house. He rose 
hastily, saying, "I'll call again some other day. I must go 
and tell the boys, now." 

Mounting his horse, he was soon dashing along at a wild 
rate. Horse and rider were down through the valley, and 
over the summit of the hill, half mile distant, as the dra- 
goons came into sight around the brow of the hill north of 
us. The hills are in such a position that they did not notice 
the swift horseman, and as he rode up to his own door, 
more than a mile away, we knew that the fugitives were 
safe. 

We at all such times left our doors unlocked, so the 
guard could come in for luncheon, or a short nap, and often 
in the morning we found as many again had slept beneath 
the roof as we supposed there would be on retiring. 

The family of one of the men so savagely hunted for, S. 
N. Wood's, removed from town to a little cabin a mile or 
two out. On coming home one night from a retreat still 
further in the country, about eleven o'clock, thinking to 
see his family for a short time, as he approached the house 
he heard a horseman coming slowly, then a voice from the 
ravine said something to him, and they held a low conver- 
sation. His suspicions were at once aroused. Could they 
have learned where his family are, and were the}' looking 
for him? are the quick suggestions of these circumstances, 
and, heeding the voice of prudence, he took another route, 
without going to his house, and came to ours. 

The night was dark, and very wet, the rainy season hav- 
ing fairly set in. I had left fire and light burning, and had 
just gone up stairs. Hearing the door open softly, I went 
down again, and so perfect was the disguise of this familiar 
friend, that, without recognizing him, I said, "Good-even- 
ing;" and was only sure of his identity, though I took the 



238 KANSAS. 

extended hand, when Mr. Wood said, "You don't know 
me?" The life of this friend would not have been one 
moment safe had he fallen into the hands of the foe. They 
swore vengeance upon him hourly, and it was decided that, 
as his life was precious, not only to his family and friends, 
but to the free-state cause, he risked too much by remain- 
ing here, and he must leave. He had had several narrow 
escapes; at one time, driving near a house, and dismount- 
ing, while the enemy were in hot pursuit, he taking a foot- 
path into a ravine close by, while a friend near put spurs 
to his horse, outstripped the enemy, and effectually misled 
them. 

The house of Mr. Speer had been repeatedly searched 
for him. Sam. Salters went again with some dragoons, a 
few days since, and entreated them that they would do the 
despicable work for him. They refused to do so, as it was 
beyond the province of their duties. So; striking around 
with a hammer, which he picked up, to show his valor, he 
at last declared, "he would go in," and, opening the door, 
was greeted by a dash of hot water in his face. 

Mrs. Speer then said, "I have respect for the United 
States troops. You can search the house, but as for this 
puke of a Missourian he shall not come in." The troops 
enjoyed this unceremonious salutation, given by the Ohio 
lady to the brave offtcial. 

Over at the Wakarusa, something like the following 
colloquy passed between the troops and Salters. They had 
approached a house where Salters was hoping to find one 
of the rescuers. Salters said to them, pointing to different 
localities, "You stand at those points." The design evi- 
dently was to intercept any one who might attempt to pass 
from the house. 

The dragoons replied, "It is not our business to arrest 
citizens." 

With oaths, the sheriff again told them to take the places 
designated; but their reply, "We are to protect you, and 
how can we do it, if we are stationed so far away?" molli- 



COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION, ETC. 239 

fied his anger somewhat, as he remembered he had not had 
his life insured. 

His courage; too, was exemplified by an attempted ar- 
rest of one of the rescuers last winter. He called at the 
house of one of the men on the Wakarusa, against whom 
he had a process, and Mrs. Abbott opened the door. 
Salters inquired, "Where is Mr. Abbott?" 

She knew the sheriff by sight, and was determined he 
should not see Mr. Abbott, and said, very calmly, "He is 
in the house." 

"I want to see him." 

"What do you want to see him for?" 

"I have business with him." 

"Well, you can't come in." 

Some other like conversation followed, when Salters 
turned away to report that Mrs. Abbott had a pistol in her 
hand, and he had been in danger of being shot. When he 
knocked, Mrs. Abbott was putting wood in the stove, and 
went to the door with a little stick in her hand. Thus are 
our people continually harassed at the instigation of the 
administration. For several days the troops were about, 
attempting to find some one to assist the sheriff in arrest- 
ing; although, in the manliness of their hearts, they loathed 
such service, and sympathized in the expression of one of 
them, on their first arrival at Lawrence, "We have never 
been ashamed of the United States service until now. We 
never were in such vile work before." Indignation firt s 
the hearts of many of our people. The feeling is so strong, 
that continual efforts, on the part of the leading men, are 
necessary to restrain the men from resistance, and the 
danger is imminent that some one, pressed beyond the 
verge of human endurance, may, in an unguarded hour, 
yield to his impulses, and a hasty but ill-judged resistance 
bring on us the horrors of civil war. 

Called, a few days since, upon Mrs. Clark, who was living 
in her new little house in the edge of town. The ell part 
was not finished, and her husband had been trying to make 



240 KANSAS. 

it more comfortable by his own efforts, when he was driven 
away by these villains, under the cover of law. The lad\' 
had been telling me, how, amid discouragements, this 
house had been erected; how she had been hoping to have 
it finished entirely, and, just as the lumber was sawed, her 
husband, leaving her ill, had to flee out into the country. 
Mr. Clark's name was among the now long list of names — 
thirty or forty of them — Jones had said he should arrest. 

She said, that morning she placed the rifle in the window, 
and told a young girl in the family, if she saw Salters com- 
ing, to let her know, and she would shoot him before he 
reached the house. By the determination of her counte- 
nance, I have no doubt she would have carried the resolu- 
tion into effect. Yet, naturally, she was not a bold woman, 
but one of a timid, sensitive nature, to whom the change 
from the refinements and ease of city life to pioneer priva- 
tions was enough to bear. 

While I was there the husband came in, saying, as he 
sat down his rifle, and wiped the moisture from his brow, 
"I will not run again." 

"But what will you do?" was the simultaneous query of 
us both. 

"I will protect myself," was the bold, defiant reply. 

"And resist the troops?" 

"Yes, I will hght anybody. If I live under a govern- 
ment that does not protect me, then I will protect myself, 
Frank Pierce or no Frank Pierce." 

This reveals the state of feeling as well as mere words 
can. It is intense, and every hour deepens it. 

No clue has been found to the intended murderer of 
Jones. All efforts in that direction have proved futile. 
The safety of all our people demands that perpetrators of 
such deeds should be brought to justice. Many feared, at 
first, that the act was committed by some free-state man, 
who had been goaded on to vengeance by wrongs unparal- 
leled under forms of law, which leave the wrong-doer to 
go unwhipt of justice, and oppress innocent and peaceable 



COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION, ETC. 24I 

men. The impression prevailing now, in reference to the 
attempted assassination of Jones, is, that some fellow- 
gambler sought his life, and, by making the blow upon 
him in Lawrence, thought to screen himself, and fasten the 
odium of the dastardly act upon this oppressed people. 
The suggestion, too, made by some, that, as the killing of 
a free-state man in the fall proved a failure in causing a 
war of extermination, now the pro-slavery ranks must fur- 
nish a victim, that the crusade may meet with success, has 
some show of reason. 

Reports are fast circulating through Missouri that Jones 
is dead, with handbills, of flaming character, calling upon 
them to the rescue, and their papers are full of the most 
vile fabrications, whole columns devoted to sentiments like 
the following: "Reeder and Robinson were the aiders and 
abettors in the deed, and, at the time, were in some gully 
behind the town, setting on their accomplices." And some 
of the papers are exceedingly bitter in their denunciations 
of the commissioners; all of which looks like exciting the 
people to another invasion. 

The only thing which has been learned, in reference to 
the attack upon Jones, is the following. Early on the 
evening of the twenty-third, two men riding upon horse- 
back, one very tall, and the other very short, stopped at a 
house about a mile from Lawrence, and not far from the 
Lecompton road. Their first question was, "Is Jones in 
Lawrence?" 

The gentleman replied, "I believe he is." 

The taller man then said, 'T am a pro-slavery man, but 
Jones shall never leave town alive." 

They left immediately, taking the direction towards 
Lawrence. A little time after, these men, marked by the 
differences in their stature, fastened their horses in front of 
a provision store in Lawrence, and walked hastily down 
the street towards the tents of the soldiers. Soon after the 
firing was heard, and the}', quickly mounting their horses, 

16 



242 KANSAS. 

drove off furiously. Who they were has never been ascer- 
tained, and they were strangers to the few who noticed 
them. 

Note. — A young man from New York, Filer by name, 
who had been in Lawrence a few months, shot S. F. Jones 
on April 22d. 



CHAPTER XV. 

REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 

May. the month of flowers, has come again. Sweet- 
scented, rose-colored verbenas are blooming side by side 
with a most delicate straw-colored flower. It grows in 
heads like the verbena, each separate flower being a little 
larger, and with serrated edge. The roses and pinks make 
the air heavy with their perfume. Since the taking of the 
prisoners to Lecompton. and the ill success of Salters in 
arresting any more, there have been a few days of quiet. 

On the second day of May. the ladies of the Literary 
Charitable Association gave a social entertainment at the 
hotel. There were the old settlers of Lawrence, who had 
pitched their tents on Mt. Oread eighteen months before, 
mingling with the newly-arrived citizens, the commission- 
ers and their suite. The evening passed merrily, and, to 
add to the pleasure of many, the prisoners at Lecompton 
arrived. Through the intervention of the soldiers, their 
guard, word had been sent to Lawrence, that the lives of 
the prisoners were in danger, and some of our prominent 
citizens went up in the morning to effect their release by 
giving bail. The soldiers were convinced, from the con- 
tinual threats against them, that there were intentions of 
foul play. and. against the wishes of the ruffians, they 
accompanied the prisoners half way to Lawrence. The 
returned men seemed to have the same feeling one would 
be likely to experience in escaping from a lion's den. and 
were glad to receive again the kindly sympathies of their 
friends. Refreshments of cakes, fruits, and ice-cream, 



244 



KANSAS. 



were brought in at a late hour, and some lovers of the 
dance were there. 

The outrages of the pro-slavery men are again becoming 
frequent. j\Ir. INIace, residing a few miles from Lawrence, 
the evening after having given in his testimony concerning 
the ill treatment he had received at the hands of the Mis- 
sourians at the election in the spring, was shot. Hearing 
his dog bark, he stepped out of his house, and reports of 
pistols resounded in the air, a ball striking him in the leg. 
At the same time, he heard one of the assassins say, 
"There's another d — d abolition wolf-bait 1" 

A young man, living on the W'akarusa, has been for 
many days missing. He had been seen to enter the timber 
bottoms, on his way to Lawrence. Soon after, a pro-slavery 
man was also seen taking the some course, and a shot was 
heard. jMr. B.'s horse was found with saddle on, in 
the woods. The Stubs, of which young B. was a member, 
searched for him but failed to find him. 

The second week in May, the First District Court held 
its session at Lecompton, Judge Lecompte presiding. The 
congressional committee also held a session at Tecumseh, 
twenty miles above Lawrence, for the better accommoda- 
tion of witnesses in that region; and of General Whitfield, 
who had declined to bring his witnesses to Lawrence, 
promising, however, to have them at Tecumseh. 

The weather being lovely, the doctor proposed that Mrs. 
Sherman and I should accompany him to Topeka, five 
miles beyond Tecumseh. A little later than the committee 
we left Lawrence, our Scotch friend, who had just returned 
from the states, accompanying us. 

A little way on the road we passed Tappan, who was 
again going to Lecompton for trial, making the third visit 
there for the same thing. 

We reached Big Springs near noon. A collection of 
houses and a store were here, upon e.xceedingly high 
ground. The site gained its name from a number of springs 
of excellent water in the deep ravine near the town. . 



REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 245 

A mile further on was Washington; unlike the Wash- 
ington with its broad avenue on our eastern slope, where 
Congress-men, fresh from the gambling-hells and deeds of 
sin which the darkness hides, shoot down their fellows; 
where our senators, for words of eloquence and truth, born 
of holy aspirations for freedom, are beaten by southern 
chivalry (?). O, how the boast of the South, their chiv- 
alry, their gallantry, has in these latter days proved itself 
only the shadow of a substance, the semblance of a reality! 

At this Washington, where its log house, kept by Penn- 
sylvanians, bears the reputation of good meals, and quickly 
served, we stopped for dinner. The huge stone fire-place, 
the lounge covered with brocatelle, the damask curtains, 
the little fancy clock, and flower-vases, gave an air of com- 
fort to the rude arrangements of a pioneer home. A bot- 
ony. Mrs. Lincoln's Botany, bringing back our school-days 
and wild romps for flowers, lay open on the lounge, and 
told of a student here. To our question of w^ho it might 
be, seeing only the proprietor and his wife, the mother, 
with a mother's pride, said her son was studying at home; 
that he missed much the schools of Pennsylvania, but was 
hoping that soon good schools would be established here. 

The afternoon's ride was over a country of most enchant- 
ing loveliness. Timber was more abundant, not only 
marking the line of the creeks, but crowning the summit 
of many an elevation. As we rode through the woods, we 
saw little log-cabins, with a clearing around them, and 
grounds fenced in. The creeks were all high from recent 
rains, but as we crossed several without difficulty, and 
when upon the further side of each one, safely over, I asked 
the doctor if there were any more, 1 grew almost impatient 
at the stereotyped answer, "One or two," and Mrs. Sher- 
man laughed, and said, "Why, what a timid little thing 
you are!" It was not fear of any personal danger which 
annoyed me, but the unpleasantness of detention by the 
breaking of the carriage. The horses were very restive in 
going down the steep banks, and it would not be the most 



246 KANSAS. 

delightful thing in the world to find oneself taking an 
unintentional plunge-bath in such muddy waters as the 
pouring rains of the last week had occasioned. 

But we had accomplished the journey to within three or 
four miles of Tecumseh without hindrance: and, as we 
approached another creek, which had precipitous banks, 
we found four heavily-loaded emigrant wagons, each drawn 
by five or six yoke of oxen, in advance of us. One or two 
teams had just crossed, and one was then going down the 
bank, while the last one was waiting, and we drove in 
ahead to be ready for the next passage. There was a 
bridge over the water when at its usual height, but this rise 
had covered the bridge, and everything by which we could 
tell its actual position. 

The heavy wagon of the emigrants struck the bridge a 
little too far on the right, and the wheels slid off into the 
water. The danger at this time was that the wagon would 
be upset into the creek. We could not pass it, and must 
wait just where we were, half down the winding bank, a 
high ledge on one side of us, and a miniature precipice on 
the other, where old dead branches of trees abounded. 
The driver of the wagon took off all the oxen save one 
yoke, and he cudgelled them in a manner, which the 
ancient text, "The righteous man is merciful to his beast," 
proved him to be entirely lacking in the kindly elements, 
but not one step did the poor cattle stir. 

A half hour passed away. The other yokes were put on 
again. The man stood on the lower side, in the water, 
and attempted to steady the wheels; but the oxen did not 
pull. The wagon was a fixture directly on this highway 
between Lawrence and Topeka. The oxen seemed unused 
to the yoke, and the teamsters equally new in driving them, 
and the question of getting to Topeka began to grow 
serious. At last the oxen were taken from the front of the 
wagon, antl placed on the other end; also some other cattle 
were taken from the wagon on the road, making ten yokes 
in all. The attenpt to start the wagon backward was now 



REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 247 

to be made, and we were directly in the way. Our carriage 
was driven as far out on the edge of the bank as it could 
stand, leaving just room enough for the oxen and 
wagon to pass out by the side of us, if they behaved 
well, and with a laudable regard for other people's rights, 
made no encroachments upon ours. ]\Irs. Sherman seemed 
to have a doubt of their doing so, and with the gentlemen 
left the carriage, and me all alone in it. Mr. Phillips, 
however, was not far away. Doctor at last took the w^hip, 
and tried his skill at driving the patient creatures. 
Another, with Avhip in hand, which he brandished with 
amazing dignity, stood between them and the carriage; 
still another was holding the tongue of the wagon. After 
various ineffectual efforts, and much loud hallooing, min- 
gled with doubts and fears on our part, the oxen gave one 
"long and strong pull together," and the wheels moved. 
The man standing nearest them fell into the water, but he 
came up again with a broad grin upon his face, and we 
could not help making it general. With three pulls, and 
three several "dips" of the man into the creek, the laugh 
each time being louder as his good-natured face appeared 
dripping with the muddy water, not a jot of his cheerful- 
ness abated, the wagon was removed from the way. Our 
party being quickly reseated in the carriage, by the aid of 
the drenched man, who offered to stand by the bridge that 
we might know where it was, we reached the other shore 
safely, and were on our way again. We asked the doctor, 
who had had a California trip overland, how this compared 
with some of their crossing of streams on the plains, and 
he answered us very energetically, that "it was nothing in 
comparison to those." On our arrival at Tecumseh, we 
found the party who had started ahead of us had had 
trouble in crossing, the water being so high that they had 
to leave their carriage for a time, getting over themselves 
at some other point, or climbing among the dead logs. 

Tecumseh is a tine location for a town; high from the 
river, with a heavy growth of wood near by. A court- 



248 KANSAS. 

house of brick, with pillars, is being built, also a large 
brick store, while the hotel, which is a wooden building, is 
quite capacious. Stinson, a white man, who married a 
Shawnee wife, resides here. He is a pro-slavery man, and 
owns two or three slaves. By the treaty, every member of 
his family is entitled to two hundred acres of land; hence, 
he is quite a landholder. Judge Elmore also resides here. 
It has been currently reported, and never contradicted, 
that, during the severe cold of last winter, the judge and 
his wife were obliged to take care of their nineteen slaves — 
he hauling wood, and cutting it, to keep them warm; that 
one old man froze to death in his bed. while another was 
crippled for life. 

The district here is largely free-state, notwithstanding 
some of the owners in the town are pro-slavery. Col. 
Woodson, of Independence, Missouri, acting counsel for 
Gen. Whitfield, had business at home which required 
his immediate attendance, when he learned the commis- 
sioners were going to Tecumseh. The singularity and 
suddenness of the move was explained satisfactorily, when 
examining the poll books of the 30th of INIarch election, 
the name of Col. S. H. Woodson, Independence, Missouri, 
was found registered in full. 

We arrived at Topeka towards night-fall, after crossing 
two more deep ravines, and one strong bridge, a mark of 
civilization and progress. We drove to a building which 
had been kept as a hotel by an acquaintance. They had 
gone out of town, and were living on a claim. Having 
found the direction, we went out there, stopping on the 
way, however, at "Commercial Head Quarters," to learn if 
accommodations for a few days could be had there. The 
reply was, "We are building, everything is topsy-turvy, but 
we will see what we can do for you." 

We found our Boston friend, Mrs. Chase, living some 
two miles from town, and no road running near. There 
was a lovely prospect in the distance, but solitude une- 
qualled all around. The house was neither a shelter from 



REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 249 

the winds nor storms. The floor-boards were loose, moving 
at every step, with large cracks between, and, through fear 
of snakes, she slept upon a few boards laid upon the beams 
near the roof, and scarcely dared step from the door, so 
great was her fear of them. She was ill with a severe cold, 
taken by exposures, and seemed a little nervous too, in 
regard to the continual outrages of the Missourians, but 
was hoping soon to get back to her house in town. 

We returned to "Commercial Head Quarters," and en- 
tered through a long, narrow room; cooking-stove and 
table were standing upon one side, and table with chairs 
upon the other, while upon the end, leaving only room for 
the door into an entry, were a large number of shelves, with 
other shelves also near the door, on the side of the room. 
They were all empty, and Yankee ingenuity does not sug- 
gest for what purpose they were hung. Two or three cages 
of canaries hung overhead, and they twittered and sung 
continually. Back of the little entry was the dining-room, 
with just room enough left for stairway between the two 
rooms. The stairs were little", narrow boards laid on inse- 
curely! How dizzy one's head grew at the first steep 
ascent! Time and use even did not render them wholly 
safe to me, with nothing to steady oneself by, and there 
was no security against reaching the bottom by a quicker 
mode than stairways usually anticipate. On reaching the 
landing at the top, we found ourselves in a room of the 
same size as the lower one. This, evidently, was a general 
sleeping apartment, for there were beds, beds, nothing but 
beds. They stood along the sides of the room, the foot of 
the first reaching the head of the second, and leaving only 
a space a few feet square by the stairway. Stepping about 
two feet in a straightforward direction, we came to another 
little entry, from which stairs to the attic ascended. On 
the left was a door opening into the printing-office, and on 
the right a curtain, which supplied the place of door, was 
uplifted, and we were ushered into an apartment. We 
sat down on a sofa (two were standing close together, and 



250 KANSAS. 

tilled one side of the room), and realized that, as Mr. 
Garvey said, "they are topsy-turvy," and not that exactly, 
but that there is a great deal of furniture in one room. 
The width of the sofa, seraphine, and large French bed- 
stead, was a nice fit for one end of the room. The lounge 
and handsome secretary, with a chair at each end of it, 
filled in between the bedstead and another one at the 
other end of the room. Centre-table stood a little in front 
of the secretary, with a vase of beautiful tiowers, and jew- 
elry case upon it. A large Boston rocker, with mahogany 
squab-seat chairs and cricket, made up the movable furni- 
ture. A family portrait gallery adorned the walls. There 
were pictures of beautiful little children, and pictures, also, 
of scriptural design, drawn from the times of the Saviour. 
This room was set apart for Mrs. Sherman and me, and, 
though one could hardly take two steps without moving a 
chair, we soon felt qviite at home. There was a nvimber of 
boarders in the house, and in the two families keeping the 
house only thirteen children. This house, at the time of 
the constitutional convention, accommodated seventy 
boarders. 

The ladies of Topeka, with their wealth of social feeling, 
soon called to see us. The sewing-circle and temperance 
society also held their meeting while we were there. The 
ladies, coming from almost all states in the Union, seemed 
to be bound together in strong bonds of friendship, and the 
partiality they feel for Topeka above other settlements is 
not only felt but loudly e.xpressed. It is doubtless true 
that the residents of other settlements are as strongly 
impressed with the advantages of their own. It is a sin- 
gular fact, and one often remarked in this country, that, if 
we were to judge by the observations of others, or our own 
feelings when in difierent localities, each place is "the 
most beautiful of all." Almost every person seems to 
think their own claim the best, and it can only be accounted 
for by the acknowledgement of the fact that an exceeding 
loveliness is spread over the whole face of the country, and 



RKDOl'HLKD KIKOKIS FOR A XICW INVASION. 25I 

actual possession of such beauty doubles its value to the 
possessor. 

Towards evening of one of the days we were at Topeka, 
the commissioners, Gov. Reeder, and several others, ar- 
rived from Tecumseh. The house was indeed full. Doc- 
tor went out to some of his acquaintances, to see if he 
could not find lodgings for us elsewhere, that he might, by 
giving up his bed in the general sleeping-room, make room 
for more; but every one's house was full. The necessity 
of the case then demanded that two sleeping apartments 
should be made of one room, and, by driving some nails 
in the beam overhead, and hanging Air. Sherman's large, 
red, double blanket in the centre, this was quickly done. 

On the evening Gov. Reeder, Mr. Howard, Mr. Sher- 
man, Gov. Robinson and Lieut. Gov. Roberts held their 
long conference upon the condition of affairs in the terri- 
tory; it was held in ]\Irs. Sherman's and my room. There 
were so many serious matters, which seemed to be fast 
approaching a crisis, to be earnestly discusssd it continued 
far into the night. It was decided that Gov. Robinson 
should at once go East and see what could and would be 
done for Kansas should greater emergencies arise. He 
was to visit the governors of several states, and other 
friends of the free-state cause. Gov. Robinson hoped to 
be back before the convening of the Legislature on the 4th 
of July. As we came home from Topeka, the next day, 
Mrs. Sherman decided she would be glad to go as far as 
her home, Mansfield, Ohio, in our company. That was 
her intention when we parted at our door on Mt. Oread. 
At one o'clock that night a messenger came bearing a very 
heavy package of the testimony taken by the congressional 
committee concerning the fraudulent voting by the Mis- 
sourians and other matters transpiring on the 30th of 
March, 1855. There was a little note to me, to the effect 
that dangers seemed to be thickening around them. 
Another attempt had been made to arrest Governor Reeder, 
and she did not feel it safe to go and leave Mr. Sherman. 



252 KANSAS. 

She hoped I might have a pleasant visit with my friend 
at Madison, and for the governor unbounded success in 
his mission. 

The same day one of Buford's men was at Tecumseh 
with a subpoena for Gov. Reeder to appear as a witness 
before the grand jury at Lecompton. He declined answer- 
ing the summons, on the ground of his business before the 
commissioners — that he was exempt from appearing as a 
witness. Open threats were being made at this time 
against Gov. Reeder's life. Major Clark, the murderer of 
Barber, w^as drilling a company of fifty men at Lecompton. 
daily, and the Buford men were gathering at Lecompton. 
We passed them in companies of eight or ten as we went 
to and from Topeka. They have no money, only the 
clothes they wear, and a rifle, for which they have given 
their notes to Major Buford. They looked, indeed, like 
the very offscouring of all creation. 

When they landed at Kansas City they had no money to 
pay for their night's lodging, and did not meet with that 
free, whole-hearted support which they expected from the 
many calls made upon them to come to the territory. One 
of the men was forcibly ejected from the pantry of the 
hotel there, that not being the landlord's usual place of 
entertaining his guests. The same evening, after reaching 
Kansas City, Major Buford called his men on to the high hill 
back of the hotel, and laid down the orders to them. He 
bound them upon an oath taken upon the Bible to remain in 
the territory to vote, and at all times to hold themselves in 
readiness to fight while they did remain. Some of the party, 
who. by false representations, had been induced to join the 
company, became disgusted with the new phase affairs 
were taking, and immediately left for home. Others would 
have done the same, but for want of passage-money. 

A member of that company, now in the government em- 
ploy, told me the offer of Major Buford was, to pay their 
expenses here, support them twelve months, and set them 
upon claims, which were already selected for them, and 



REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 253 

he was then to have a share in the claim. Being poor, 
these inducements to get a living were a temptation, and 
the lure was successful. How different was the reality 
when they arrived here! This man also stated that the 
first time they heard that fighting was to be their business 
was when they arrived at Kansas City. Hence the disgust 
with which many returned to their homes. That they are, 
as a whole, a poor, degraded, ignorant set of beings, one 
glance will suffice to show. Complaining as one of them 
was to a free-state man, for years a resident of the territory, 
of his bitter fate, the latter said to him. "Why don't you 
get some work to do!" 

'T can't work; I never worked a day in my life." 

"Then you will have to buy a negro, and let him work 
for you." 

"I have no money to buy anything." 

What can such a community as this do in Kansas? Is 
there anything left for such creatures to do but kill, plun- 
der and destroy? It has been the threat of some pro- 
slavery men. that when the free-state men should be driven 
out, they would take their houses and claims. Is this the 
selection of claims Major Buford had reference to, in 
promising claims to his men? While such men as these 
were making Lecompton their head-quarters, and Major 
Clark was drilling his fifty men, Judge Lecompte delivered 
his extraordinary charge to the grand jury. As a legal 
curiosity it deserves preservation, and will be regarded 
with interest by all who have fallen under the jurisdiction 
of a judge as much more infamous than Judge Jeffries as 
his consummate ignorance renders him more despicable. 
A portion of it reads thus: 

"This territory was organized by an act of Congress, and 
so far its authority is from the United States. // has a 
h'gis/aiiire elected in perstiance of that organic act. This legis- 
lature, being an instrument of Congress by zvhich it goi'erns the 
territory, has passed laws. These laws, therefore, are of 
United States authority and making; and all that resist 



254 KANSAS. 

i/u'si' /ciiL'S 7-esist the power and authority of the United States, 
and are, therefore, guilty of high treason. 

"Now, gentlemen, if you find that any person has resisted 
these laws, then you must, under your oaths, find bills 
against them for high treason. If you find that no sueh 
resistance has been made, but that combinations have been 
formed for the purpose of resisting them, and individuals 
of influence and notoriety have been aiding and abetting 
in such combinations, then must you find bills for con- 
structive treason." To make the matter so plain that even 
the dullest of his hearers may not fail to comprehend his 
meaning, he states that some who are "dubbed governor, 
lieutenant governor, etc., are such individuals of influence 
and notoriety." 

Before this famous charge of Judge Lecompte. on the 
8th of May, as Gov. Reeder had returned from Tecumseh. 
and was conducting the examination of a witness before 
the committee at Lawrence, Deputy Marshal Fain appear- 
ed in court, and served a writ of attachment upon Governor 
Reeder. He arose and informed the committee of the fact, 
and gave the three following reasons for his not obeying the 
subpoena of the day before; namely: Informality in the 
writ, insecurity of person at Lecompton. and privilege as 
a member of Congress. The writ was not properly ad- 
dressed to any officer; it did not specify the day in which 
it required him to appear; it was not properly attested. 
He stated further, that the House of Representatives had 
recognized him as a claimant for a seat in that body, as a 
delegate from Kansas; that he was. therefore, entitled to 
the same privileges as a member of Congress, conferred by 
the sixth section of article first of the federal constitution. 
It was also the opinion of the majority of the committee 
that Gov. Reeder would be privileged from arrest to the 
same extent that a member of the committee would be. and 
that his duty required him to attend the sittings of the 
committee instead of those of the territorial courts. Gov. 
Reeder was a contestant for a seat in Congress; his memo- 



REDOUBLKl) EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 255 

rial had been received: the committee was sent to Kansas 
to take testimony in his case: and his attendance, in obe- 
dience to the summons of the committee, is essential to the 
prosecution of their labors. He must judge for himself 
upon his course of action. Gov. Reeder then informed 
the officer he should not be arrested, and. if he attempted 
it, it would be at his peril. Soon after the deputy left, 
however, he sent a letter to Judge Lecompte, saying he 
would appear before him as a witness, if he would promise 
him protection while in Lecompton, and grant him a safe 
return to Lawrence when he should have given in his testi- 
mony. The answer of the judge was, that "the matter 
had gone out of his hands." 

The committee being about to leave for Leavenworth, 
Governor Reeder was warned not to go with them if he 
would escape assassination; but his reply was that he 
should go. It was not unknown to many that, on his first 
arrival in Kansas, in May, coming to Lawrence by way of 
Leavenworth, he had only left the last-named place when 
a band of men threatened to assassinate him if he could be 
found. These threats had not grown less bitter or more 
rare, and reports from Wyandotte, Leavenworth, and Kan- 
sas Cit}'^, showed that a new invasion was being planned 
against the territory. On the tenth, word came into Law- 
rence of these plans of the borderers. They were crossing 
into the territory and forming about Atchison, ready to 
march at any time. Their first plan was, by torced and 
stealthy marches, at night, to surprise Lawrence. But, 
seeing the impracticability of such a procedure, another 
plan more sure was adopted, and, on the eleventh of May, 
United States Marshal Donaldson issued his proclamation 
of falsehoods. 

"PROCLAMATION! 

"TO THE PEOPLE OF KANSAS TERRITORY. 

"Whereas certain judicial writs have been directed to 
me, by the First District Court of the United States, etc., 



256 KANSAS. 

to be executed within the Count}- of Douglas; and whereas 
an attempt to execute them by the United States deputy 
marshal was violently resisted by a large number of the 
citizens of Lawrence, and as there is every reason to be- 
lieve that an attempt to execute these writs will be resisted 
by a large body of armed men; now, therefore, the law- 
abiding citizens of the territory are commanded to be and 
appear at Lecompton, as soon as practicable, and in num- 
bers sufficient for the proper execution of the law. 

"Given under my hand, this nth day of May, 1856. 

"J. B. Donaldson, 
"6^. .S". Marshal for Kansas Territory.'^ 

My husband, going upon business to the East, was also 
taken prisoner on the tenth of May, by a gang of Missou- 
rians at Lexington. They declared he was running awa}' 
from an indictment, and by their whole conversation showed 
themselves better acquainted with the designs of Judge 
Lecompte and Gov. Shannon than the people of this terri- 
tory. They sent word to this tool of theirs, who bears the 
title of governor of the territory, and he recognized them 
as his agents and accomplices. 

Letters written by H. C. Pate, tilled with utter false- 
hoods, calculated to arouse the passions of the border men, 
were published in the St. Louis Republican. In a letter 
dated Palermo, K. T., May 5, and published in the Repub- 
lican, he made an untrue statement with regard to Jones, 
then stated, that a man by the name of Harper had been 
shot in or near Lawrence, and went into doleful strains on 
the want of compassion of the people of Lawrence for the 
bereaved wife and children; all of which was a sheer fabri- 
cation — no man of the name of Harper having lived in 
Lawrence, or any man been molested; and another proof 
was given of the old adage, that "an idle man's brain is 
the devil's workshop." He closed his letter, however, by 
an appeal for present help, saying, "I think I shall be able, 
in a few days, to give you something of an interesting and 
conclusive character." 



REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 257 

In this way was every means used to create a war in the 
territory. The St. Louis Intelligencer published the fol- 
lowing letter, dated 

"Parkville, Mo., May i6, 1856, 

"Prepare for an awful shock! Hold a steady helm, or 
the old ship will be wrecked! Armed men are rushing into 
the territory. The destruction of Lawrence is meditated. 
Civil war is just before us. Couriers just from Lawrence 
say they have from one thousand to fifteen hundred men, 
while there are from eight hundred to one thousand around 
the place, but increasing fast. It is thought the destruc- 
tion of the committee and evidence is the cause of the out- 
break, or at the bottom. We pray the Almighty God to 
avert these dreadful evils. The secret border league is at 
the head of this affair. It is expected to result in disunion. 
The ultras on both sides are dangerous men. Strike boldly 
for the union of this great country, and may God bless you. 
It is said the ladies of Lawrence are arming. The Platte 
city cannon and many men have gone over. None have 
yet gone from Parkville. It is not advised by the masses; 
most good citizens are against it." 

While this shows the state of things in the Missouri 
border, outrage and pillage were already committed by the 
ruffians arrived in the territory. As a party of free-state 
men, on the fifteenth of May, were quietly at work in a field 
in Benicia, a little town about eight miles from Lawrence, 
unarmed, they were suddenly surrounded by twenty-five 
Missourians, wholly armed, who, without any warrant or 
authority, took them prisoners. They carried them into a 
neighboring cabm, and, with many threats of instant death, 
ordered them to leave Kansas. "G — d d — n you, if you 
are ever caught here again you shall be strung up! Go to 
Nebraska, d — n you! You have no right in Kansas!" was 
the language of these ruffians. "We are coming to Law- 
rence in a few days, to wipe out the d d abolition city. 

and to kill or drive off every one of the inhabitants," was 



258 KANSAS. 

the ^na/e oi all their threats. All the prisoners except a 
Mr. Stratten, of Worcester, Mass., were soon released. 
He had answered them like a man, and was rese-rved for 
further punishment. The following is the speech of Major 
Herbert, the leader of the ruffians: 

"Gentlemen: The cause of our being together today is- 
of a peculiar character. The condition of things at this 
time, and things that have been said and done, 5'ou are 
better acquainted with than I am. I have been here but a 
short time. What 3'ou know are facts; what I know is 
hearsay, but my information is such that it becomes facts. 

"I now want to give you a piece of advice. You are in 
a state of rebellifln. You have been aiding designing men 
in carrying out their point, which has brought this Union 
almost or quite into a state of dissolution. You have be«n 
offering resistance to the laws of the territorial Legislature, 
which was no doubt a legal one. The President has de- 
clared it legal; Congress has declared it legal; and resis- 
tance to those laws is Treason! 

"What did you come here for? Why did you not go to 
Minnesota, or Nebraska? It is not half settled, and is as 
good country as this. But, no; vou must come here. You 
want to get the wliole of the territor}' that belongs to the 
South. 

"We are going to drive you all out. We are going to 
Lawrence to take their arms. We are going to take every 
d — d thing they have got. The South asks nothing of the 
North. Now my advice to you is this: keep on at 3'our 
work here, stay at home, have nothing to do with elections 
or voting. If you do j'ou will be liable to be hanged on 
the first tree you come to. 

"Every man has a right to his opinions, and a right to 
express them openly. Do you suppose I would go into a 
free-state camp and tell them that I was a free-state man? 
No, by G — d! I should liope I had more respect for my- 
self or country. I told my people before I left home, that 



REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 259 

I would see that this ^vas made a slave-state or die, and by 
G — d, it shall be done, or every pro-slavery man in the 
territory will die in the attempt. It will be done peaceably 
if it can; if not, by G — d, it shall be by the point of the 
bowie-knife! 

"This territory belongs to the South, and, by G — d, the 
South will have it! Is it not so, boys? (turning to his 
posse. 'It is,' was the response). You have offered no 
resistance, and I hope that you will not. If you do you 
will be dealt with in a more summary manner. Gentle- 
men, you are released." 

Cows and other animals had, for several days, been 
killed and carried off to the camp of the invaders at Le- 
compton. One free-state man was obliged by the ruffians 
to drive his own cow there, where they killed her before 
his eyes. 

On the evening of the 13th of May, Mr. f. Weaver, 
assistant sergeant-at-arms of tlie congressional committee, 
was returning to Lawrence with one of the witnesses whom 
he had subpoenaed. Not finding his way to the ferry readi- 
ly, a United States dragoon, whom he met, offered to show 
him the way, and as they came in sight of the ferry, they 
were just upon the camp of one hundred men, armed with 
revolvers, bowie-knives. United States muskets, and bayo- 
nets. They rode through the camp to the ferry-landing, 
and dismounted. As the}^ did so, several men lying about 
on the ground exclaimed, "What in li — 11 does that mean?" 

A crowd from the camp gathered around them, and one, 
coming in front of Mr. Weaver, asked where he was from, 
and where going; to which he replied he had been up 
north and was going to Lawrence; when one of the ruffians 
remarked, "You won't get there very soon." He then 
asked "how he was on the goose?" to which he replied, 
"he was on the right side," but did not enter into any ex- 
planations of what, in his estimation, the right side might 
be. This answer raised the ire of the ruffian, and he said 
Mr. Weaver was "a fit subject to stay with them overnight." 



26o KANSAS. 

At this remark a number of the men gathered around 
with muskets in their hands. Another man, who had been 
talking with the dragoon, came up and said to the man, 
"It would be better not to interfere with Mr. Weaver, as 
he was in charge of the dragoon." Mr. Weaver then said 
"he was not in charge of the dragoon, but was himself a 
United States officer," and to the question of what kind of 
an officer, replied, "he was an officer of the U. S. House 
of Representatives, and was called sergeant-at-arms." 

His papers were then called for, and he handed his sub- 
poena to a man they called colonel, who had the appearance 
of a man who might read. 

After a thorough examination of the papers, and some 
consultation, he told Mr. Weaver "his case would be con- 
sidered," asking him if "he did not know these were war 
times." 

When Mr. Weaver expressed his ignorance of such a 
fact, the ruffian replied, "he would mform him these were 
war times, and folks must be on their guard; that it was a 
matter of importance that people be examined who do not 
show a plain front." He finished his dissertation by say- 
ing "that Mr. Weaver could not be released from custody, 
as the captain was not in camp." 

Mr. Weaver told him "it was a matter of importance 
that he be not detained, as he must appear before the com- 
mittee of investigation at Lawrence;" and, after a good 
deal of urging, another examination of papers, and a new 
consultation among the rufiians, it was decided that Mr. 
Weaver and the witness should be sent under a guard of 
armed men to Lecompton, to be examined by Col. Wilkes, 
commanding at that time. So, after a detention of an hour 
or more, they were sent to Lecompton, and delivered to 
Col. Wilkes. After an examination of the papers, assisted 
by a Gen. Cramer, Col. Wilkes told Mr. Weaver he thought 
"he was entitled to pass without molestation; but the 
forces in the territory being still unorganized, he would be 
liable to interruption and detention by the way." 



REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 261 

He told him, also, "if he was hailed by any of the 
parties, to answer immediately, by all means, else he 
would certainly be shot." 

At the request of Mr. Weaver, to save detention by these 
parties, Col. Wilkes gave the following pass: 

"Lecompton, Kansas, May 13, 1856. 
"To ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: This is to Certify that 
I have examined the papers of Mr. J. A. Weaver, in com- 
pany with Gen. Cramer, and I am satisfied that he is acting 
under authority of the U. S. House of Representatives, 
and should pass unmolested. 

"Warren D. Wilkes, 

'^^ Of South Carolina.'' 

This is a South Carolina pass; and the party who arrest- 
ed Mr. Weaver claimed to be from South Carolina. 
Wilkes is one of Buford's men, a lieutenant in the band of 
ruffians. He is one of the self-constituted regulators in 
the territory in the affairs of actual settlers; was one of the 
destroyers of Lawrence, and was afterwards the leader of a 
gang of brutal men at Leavenworth, who arrested peace- 
able citizens without authority, and at the point of the 
bayonet. 

On the 1 6th May, as Mr. Stowell was coming in from 
Kansas Cit}' to Lawrence, passing through Franklin, his 
wagon was stopped, and some boxes of guns broken open, 
and contents taken. Also a wagon-load of fiour was taken 
possession of by the marshal's posse. 

About the same time. Dr. Root and Mr. Mitchell, only a 
little time in the territory, having been down below Law- 
rence to look after some teams which the)' thought were 
delayed unnecessarily, on their return to Wabaunsee, left 
Lawrence on the afternoon of the i6th. On passing an 
encampment of Marshal Donaldson's, it being already dark, 
they were fired upon by a company of fifteen or twenty 
men, who rushed from a small cabin near the road, shout- 



262 KANSAS. 

ing and firing as they came. They were taken prisoners 
by them, while two gentlemen ahead of them, on fleet 
horses escaped the whizzing balls. Hence the intelligence 
which went over the country that Dr. Root and Mr. Mitch- 
ell were killed. 

About the same time, Judge Conway and P. C. Schuyler, 
returning to the territory from a tour in the states, were 
taken off the William Campbell by a mob. Their appeal 
to the officers of the boat availed them nothing. They 
only learned from them the simple fact that the affair was 
a "matter between them and the mob." The mob pre- 
tended "these gentlemen were endeavoring to leave the 
territory, and that writs were out against them." 

Their coming into, instead of going out of, the territory 
was sufficient to show the falsity of such a pretence, and they 
expressed a willingness to answer to any charge before any 
court. The gentlemen preferring to trust their safet}' in 
the hands of friends, turned a deaf ear to the suggestions 
of one of the border ruffians, "that they were better off 
where they were than in the territory; for there was a heap of 
trouble there now, and, from what they believed, would 
be much safer in Parkville." Some of the more respec- 
table people in Parkville interfered, and 'procured the 
release of Judge Conway and Mr. Schuyler from the ring- 
leaders. 

On the night of the 13th, Mr. Jenkins and G. W. Brown, 
of Lawrence, were taken prisoners by a band of ruffians, 
half-way between Westport and Kansas City, on their way 
to Lawrence. 

Traveling was unsafe in the territory, bands of these 
ruffians being encamped at many points. About the iSth, 
armed men were encamped on the "Big Stranger," waiting 
for the water to abate before they could cross with their 
two brass six-pound howitzers, and their ammunition and 
provision wagons. There was the camp of desperadoes at 
Lecompton, and bands of armed men infesting the usually 
traveled route from Lawrence to Kansas City. People 



REDOUBLED EFFORTS FOR A NEW INVASION. 263 

passing on the highways were stopped, searched, and 
robbed of anything which pleased the invaders. These 
highwaymen and freebooters were called into the territory 
by the marshal's proclamation of the nth, and their ex- 
penses were to be defrayed by the general government. 
Our people were annoyed beyond endurance. Their prop- 
erty was destroyed, their lives in jeopardy, and their rights 
trampled upon by these vile minions of a viler administra- 
tion. United States muskets were put in the hands of 
these Carolinians and Alabamians, not one month in the 
territory, by Gov. Shannon, thus making himself a tool in 
the hands, of the President, to consummate his infamy. 
The following pass is proof positive that Gov. Shannon is 
implicated in all these villainies: 

"Executive Office, 

Decompton, K. T., May 17, 1856. 

"The bearer of this is Jesse Newill, an acquaintance of 

mine from Ohio, who is now in this territory with the view of 

looking out for a situation to locate a saw-mill. He desires 

to examine the country and select a place well provided 

with timber. He is accompanied by his son, John Newill, 

Joseph Fitzsimmons, his brother-in-law, and a Dr. Gamble. 

"They are in no way identified with the present troubles 

in this territory. 

"Now, therefore, I have to request all persons to permit 
the said Jesse Newill and his comrades to pass and repass 
throughout the territory without molestation. 

"Wilson Shannon, 

' ' Governor of Kansas. " 

The following pass also deserves preservation, as it em- 
anated from the executive department of the territory. 
There are many more of the same kind afloat: 

"let this man pas for i no him to bee a law and abiding 
man. 

"Samuel Salters." 



264 KANSAS. 

Gov. Shannon's pass was given under these circum- 
stances: Mr. Jesse Newill, recently from Ohio, after hav- 
ing been arrested several times in going near Lecompton, 
at last entered the town, and, seeing the governor, rode up 
to him, saying, "What does all this mean?" 

The governor, falling back on his dignity, of which he 
has no small share when he is enjoying a sense of security, 
both from friends and foes, said, "There is no use of com- 
plaining. The territory is under martial law, and a civil 
war is inevitable." 

The governor seemed uneasy to get away from being 
questioned bj^ an old friend. His conscience, although of 
the gutta percha kind, might have given an occasional 
twinge, when pressed by the close queries of a man of 
sense. On parting, he gave Mr. Newill the above charac- 
teristic pass. 

Thus, while the people of Missouri arrest the leading 
men in the territory, Gov. Shannon accepts their services; 
while several are actually indicted upon a charge of high 
treason, — while the marshal has called in these Missourians 
to meet at Lecompton for siege upon Lawrence, — the 
Washington Union is out, with the bloodthirstiness of the 
border papers, for the extermination of the free-state men 
in Kansas. It expresses its hopes "that an example will 
be made of some of the ringleaders," and says, "It is high 
time that rebellion and treason should be brought to the 
bar of justice." What could better express the purposes 
of this administration, whose real head is Jefferson Davis 
and Caleb Gushing & Co. ? 

White servitude is the order in Kansas; but the more 
galling the bondage, the sooner will its reign be over, and 
the chains which bind us will drag down eternally, deeper 
than plummet hath ever sounded, our infamous oppressors. 
Let the Union talk of "treason and rebellion" to a tyran- 
nical usurpation being brought to justice. There is no 
justice in Kansas. Let Douglas say, "I will subdue you," 
and let this subjugation be accomplished by President 



COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION, ETC. 265 

Pierce's "army and navy" at the point of the bayonet and 
the murderous rifle. Death, too, may come at his hands; 
but with it the soul wins imnlortalit3^ The "traitor" may 
expiate his love of freedom on the scaffold of his building; 
but the world will see in it the pedestal of honor. 

"For humanity sweeps onward; where to-day the martyr stands. 
To-morrow crouches Judas, with his silver in his hands; 
While the howling mob of yesterday in silent awe return, 
To glean the scattered ashes into History's golden urn." 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 



Surely the web has been woven around the little city of 
eighteen months' existence. Its prosperity has excited the 
envy of the spoiler, and gradually now the vile men under 
J. B. Donaldson, United States Marshal, are drawing 
nearer; the circle about the beleaguered town is continual- 
ly growing less. They come with United States authority. 
The President seeks renown in the bombarding of a poor 
little town on the far-western prairies; and his hordes, 
suggesting to all beholders the idea of a resurrection from 
the infernal regions, or a sudden leap into Dante's Inferno, 
are gathered here. Gov. Shannon lends his servility to the 
scheme. But let the facts be stated; let the documents 
which passed between our people and their(?) governor be 
proof in the matter. 

Rumors, well authenticated, were afloat in the commu- 
nity that large companies were gathering into the territory 
at different points; that they were drilling and preparing 
for an attack upon Lawrence. The last rumor was that a 
demand would be made upon the town for Reeder and 
Robinson and others, both of those named already being 
absent; that, if these were not given up, the town should 
be sacked. It was stated, further, that a large posse 
would enter the place, and, after making arrests, the posse 
would be disbanded to sack the town. The marshal's proc- 
lamation was issued on the nth. This was not sent to 
Lavv'rence, nor any means used to acquaint the people with 
the designs of the officers. The people, however, acting 



5d 



o a; 



^ 



en 

H 
> 



o 



r 




THE Al'lACK UPON LaWRKNCK. 267 

upon the continual threats of invasion, called a meeting, 
and appointed a committee of three to wait upon Gov. 
Shannon, and apprize him of the real state of affairs, and 
ask his interference in their behalf. The following letter 
was sent from Lawrence by the committee to Governor 
Shannon: 

"Lawrence City, Kansas, May ii, 1856. 

"Dear Sir: The undersigned are charged with the duty 
of communicating to your Excellency the following pream- 
ble and resolutions, adopted by the citizens of Lawrence 
at a public meeting holden at this place at seven o'clock 
this evening, viz. : 

" 'Whereas we have the most reliable information, from 
various points of the territory and the adjoining state of 
Missouri, of the organization of guerilla bands, who threaten 
the destruction of our town and its citizens, therefore, 

" ^Resolved, That Messrs. Topliff, Hutchinson, and Rob- 
erts, constitute a committee to inform his Excellency Gov. 
Shannon of these facts, and to call upon him, in the name 
of the people of Lawrence, for protection against such 
bands by the United States troops at his disposal.' 

"All of which is most respectfully submitted, by order of 
the people of Lawrence. 

"Very truly, etc., 

"C. W. Topliff, 
John Hutchinson, 
W. Y. Roberts." 

After Gov. Shannon had held a consultation with several 
of the leaders at Lecompton, he returned the following 
missive, of doubtful import: 

"Executive Office, ) 

Lecompton, K. T., May 12, 1856. f 

"Gentlemen: Your note of the nth instant is received; 

and, in reply, I have to state that there is no force around 

or approaching Lawrence, except the legally constituted 

posse of the United States Marshal, and Sheriff of Douglas 



268 KANSAS. 

county, each of whom, I am informed, has a number of 
writs for execution against persons now in Lawrence. 

"I shall in no way interfere with either of these officers 
in the discharge of their official duties. 

"If the citizens of Lawrence submit themselves to the 
territorial laws, and aid and assist the marshal and sheriff 
in the execution of processes in their hands, as all good 
citizens are bound to do, when called on, they or all such 
will entitle themselves to the protection of the law. 

"But so long as they keep up a military or armed organ- 
ization to resist the territorial laws, and the officers charged 
with their execution, I shall not interfere to save them 
from the legitimate consequences of their illegal acts. 
"I have the honor to be 

"Yours with great respect, 

"Wilson Shannon. 
Messrs. C. W. Topliff, 

John Hutchinson, 
W. Y. Roberts." 

The citizens of Lawrence will be entitled to protection 
while they submit to the territorial laws. He is very care- 
ful, however, not to promise such protection; and the non- 
committal essay leaves room for the belief that, if the 
people did not yield like slaves to the insolence of an irre- 
sponsible mob, they would be regarded by him as outlaws, 
and be wholly given over to his reckless gang of despera- 
does. "No military or armed organization to resist the 
territorial laws, and the officers charged with their execu- 
tion," has ever been formed in Lawrence, which Gov. 
Shannon knew well. There have been military companies 
with stated drills, and these have constituted all the organ- 
izations entered into, save the one which he himself com- 
missioned, gladly availing himself of its protection from 
the lawless mob he had precipitated upon us. 

On Tuesday, the 13th of May, one of the marshal's proc- 
lamations was brought into town, and its charges were so 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 269 

entirely false and cruel in their intent, that the citizens 
immediately came together in public meeting, Judge 
Wakefield presiding, and the following resolutions were 
adopted: 

"Whereas, by a proclamation to the people of Kansas 
Territory, by J. B. Donaldson, United States Marshal for 
said territory, issued on the nth day of May, 1856, it is 
alleged that certain 'judicial writs of arrest have been 
directed to him by the First District Court of the United 
States, etc., to be executed within the Count}' of Douglas, 
and that an attempt to execute them by the United States 
Deputy Marshal was violently resisted by a large number 
of the citizens of Lawrence, and that there is every reason 
to believe that any attempt to execute these writs will be 
resisted b}' a large body of armed men,' therefore, 

^^Resolzu-d, by this public meeting of the citizens of Law- 
rence, held this 13th day of May, 1856, that the allegations 
and charges against us, contained in the aforesaid procla- 
mation, are wholly untrue in fact, and the conclusion 
entirely false which is drawn therefrom; the aforesaid 
deputy marshal was resisted in no manner whatsoever, nor 
by any person whatever, in the execution of said writs, ex- 
cept by him whose arrest the said deputy marshal was 
seeking to make; and that we now, as we have done here- 
sofpre, declare our willingness and our determination, 
without resistance, to acquiesce in the service upon us of 
any judicial writs against us by the United States Marshal 
for Kansas Territory, and will furnish him a posse for that 
purpose, if so requested; but that we are ready to resist, if 
need be, unto death, the ravages and desolation of an in- 
vading mob. 

"J. A. Wakefield, President. 

"John Hutchinson, Secretary.'' 

The same evening (Tuesday, the 13th) Mr. Cox, a pro- 
slavery man, of Lawrence, was requested by one of our 
leading citizens to ascertain from Marshal Donaldson if 



270 KANSAS. 

an}' peaceable arrangement could be entered into to pre- 
vent his monster posse from entering the town. Mr. Cox 
remained all night with Donaldson, and, on his return to 
Lawrence the next morning, reported the following con- 
versation as having passed between himself and Marshal 
Donaldson: 

Mr. Cox asked, "Will you be able to control these men, 
if they enter the town?" 

The marshal replied, "I don't know that I will." 

Mr. Cox then asked, "Can any thing be done, on the 
part of Lawrence, to prevent your coming in with so large 
a force?" He replied, "The three following demands 
must be complied with, before I shall consent not to enter 
Lawrence with all my force. First. That every man, 
against whom a warrant is issued, shall be surrendered. 
Second. All munitions of war, in Lawrence, shall be de- 
livered up. Third. That the citizens of Lawrence shall 
pledge themselves implicitly to obey the present enact- 
ments of Kansas — test-oaths, taxes, and all." 

Upon the receipt of this reply, on the morning of the 
14th, the citizens immediately held a public meeting. 
That no means should be left untried for the protection of 
the citizens, — that the marshal should have no ground for 
misapprehension in reference to the intentions of the 
people, — the following letter was prepared and sent to the 
marshal by Mr. Cox: 

"Lawrence, May 14, 1856. 

"J. B. Donaldson, U. S. Marsha/ for K. T. : — Dear Sir: 
We have seen a proclamation issued by yourself, dated 
iith May, inst., and also have reliable information this 
morning, that large bodies of armed men, in pursuance of 
your proclamation, have assembled in the vicinit}' of 
Lawrence. 

"That there ma}' be no misunderstanding, we beg leave 
to ask respectfully, that we may be reliably informed what 
are the demands against us. We desire to state, most 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 27I 

truthfully and earnestly, that no opposition whatever will 
now, or at any future time, be offered to the execution of 
any legal process by yourself, or any person acting for you. 
We also pledge ourselves to assist you, if called upon, in 
the execution of any legal process. 

"We declare ourselves to be order-loving and law- 
abiding citizens, and only await an opportunity to test our 
fidelity to the laws of the country, the constitution and the 
Union. 

"We are informed, also, that those men collecting about 
Lawrence openly declare that their intention is to destroy 
the town, and drive off the citizens. Of course we do not 
believe you give any countenance to such threats; but, in 
view of the excited state of the public mind, we ask pro- 
tection of the constituted authorities of the government, 
declaring ourselves in readiness to cooperate with them for 
the maintenance of the peace, order, and quiet of the com- 
munity in which we live. 

"Very respectfully, 

"Robert Morrow, 
Lyman Allen, 
John Hutchinson." 

On the morning of the fifteenth, Mr. John Hutchinson 
was the bearer of a dispatch to Col. Sumner, at Fort 
Leavenworth, requesting him, if he had no power to assist 
the citizens in defending the town, to station a body of 
troops in the vicinity, that their presence might act as a 
preventive to the sanguinary measures with which the mob 
threaten it. The majority of the investigating committee 
also asked for the interference of Col. Sumner, on the 
sixteenth. To them both the reply was similar: "he wished 
he could do something, but he had no power to move with- 
out orders." Early Thursday forenoon, the fifteenth, Lieut. 
Gov. W. Y. Roberts, C. W. Babcock, and Josiah Miller, 
went to Lecompton to receive Marshal Donaldson's answer. 
The following is the document: 



272 KANSAS. 

'•Office of the U. S. Marshal ) 
Lecompton, K. T, May 15, 1856. \ 

"Messrs. G. W. Deitzler and J. H. Green, Lawrence, 
K. T. : — On yesterday I received a communication ad- 
dressed to me, signed by one of you as president and the 
other as secretary, purporting to have been adopted by a 
meeting of the citizens of Lawrence, held on yesterday 
morning. After speaking of a proclamation issued by 
myself, you state, 'That there may be no misunderstanding, 
we beg leave to ask respectfully, that we may be reliably 
informed, what are the demands against us. We desire 
most truthfully and earnestly to declare that no opposition 
whatever will now, or at any future time, be offered to the 
execution of any legal process by yourself, or any person 
acting for you. We also pledge ourselves to assist you, 
if called upon, in the execution of any legal process,' etc. 

"From your professed ignorance of the demands against 
you, I must conclude that you are strangers, and not 
citizens, of Lawrence, or of recent date, or been absent 
for some time; more particularly when an attempt was 
made by my deputy to execute the process of the First 
District Court of the United States for Kansas Territory, 
against ex-Gov. Reeder, when he made a speech in the 
room and in the presence of the congressional committee, 
and denied the power and authority of said court, and 
threatened the life of said deputy, if he attempted to exe- 
cute said process, which speech and defiant threats were 
loudly applauded by some one or two hundred of the citi- 
zens of Lawrence, who had assembled at the room on 
learning the business of the marshal, and made such hostile 
demonstrations that the deputy thought he and his small 
posse would endanger their lives in executing said process. 

"Your declaration that you 'will truthfully and earnestly 
offer now, or at any future time, no opposition to the exe- 
cution of any legal process,' etc., is indeed difficult to 
understand. May I ask, gentlemen, what has produced 
this wonderful change in the minds of the people of Law- 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 273 

rence? Have their eyes been suddenly opened, so that 
they are now able to see that there are laws in force in 
Kansas Territory, which should be obeyed? Or is it that, 
just now, those for whom I have writs have sought refuge 
elsewhere? Or it may possibly be that you now, as 
heretofore, expect to screen yourselves behind the word 
'legal,' so significantly used by you. How am I to rely on 
your pledges, when I am well aware that the whole popu- 
lation of Lawrence is armed and drilled, and the town 
fortified — when, too, I recollect the meetings and resolu- 
tions adopted in Lawrence, and elsewhere in the territory, 
openly defying the laws and the officers thereof, and threat- 
ening to resist the same to a bloody issue, and recently 
verified in the attempted assassination of Sheriff Jones, 
while in the discharge of his official duties in Lawrence? 
Are you strangers to all these things? Surel}' you must be 
strangers at Lawrence. If no outrages have been com- 
mitted by the citizens of Lawrence against the laws of the 
land, they need not fear any posse of mine. But I must 
take the liberty of executing all processes in my hands, as 
the U. S. Marshal, in my own time and manner, and shall only 
use such power as is authorized by law. You say you call 
upon the constituted authority of the government for pro- 
tection. This indeed sounds strange, coming from a large 
body of men, armed with Sharpe's rifles and other imple- 
ments of war, bound together by oaths and pledges to 
resist the laws of the government they call on for protec. 
tion. All persons in Kansas Territory, without regard to 
location, who honestly submit to the constituted author- 
ities, will ever find me ready to aid in protecting them; and 
all who seek to resist the laws of the land, and turn traitors 
to their countr}', will find me aiding in enforcing the laws, if 
not as an officer, as a citizen. 

"Respectfully yours, 

"J. B. Donaldson, 
' ' United States Marslial of Kansas Territory.'" 

18 



274 KANSAS. 

It is unnecessary to characterize it as most heartless and 
insulting. Let its spirit of revengeful exultation strike 
terror into the hearts of any, who, by word or deed, would 
aid the purposes of the slave power, which, like the deadly 
upas-tree, casts blight and mildew over all within its 
shadow, while its already monstrous growth threatens to 
strike the blow at the foot of all republican liberty. 

Gov. Shannon treated the messengers from Lawrence 
coldly, and would say nothing to them. While Messrs. 
Roberts and Parrott were there. Miller was accosted b}' 
Major Clark, to whom Miller extended his hand; but, with- 
out taking it, the murderer of Barber said, "D — n you, I 
won't shake hands with you! I believe you published an 
article in your paper about me. I will settle with you to- 
night." 

As they were returning to Lawrence, a party came out 
upon them, and asked if Miller was among them, and if 
he were from South Caroliua. Upon this, Mr. Miller reply- 
ing that he was, one of the banditti said, "Come with us. 
I am from South Carolina, and we have an account to 
settle with you to-night." Mr. Miller showed the pass the 
marshal had given him; but the leader said "he didn't care 
a d — n about the marshal." 

They seized and dragged him away, in spite of the pro- 
testations of Messrs. Babcock and Roberts, and would not 
allow them to accompany their friend. 

Mr. Miller was tried with a mock trial by these South 
Carolinians, Dr. Stringfellow presiding as judge. The 
charge was one of treason against South Carolina, and Mr. 
Miller was released, minus his money, revolvers, and horse. 

The communication of the marshal being received in 
Lawrence, all hope of safety from any action of his was at 
once abandoned. The evident design of the autliorities 
was to force the people into resistance to the United States 
authorities, in acts of self preservation, or to gain posses- 
sion of the town by process of law, and then give it up to 
unrestrained outrage. The officers showed no disposition 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 2/5 

to restrain the lawless acts daily committed by their 
"legally authorized militia," and there is no reason to sup- 
pose they desired to do so. 

At this time, beside the breaking open ot goods, robbing 
and plundering, thirty men had been arrested without any 
legal process, and treated with every indignity, while some 
still remained at the mercy of the robbers. The people of 
Lawrence, still wishing peace, made one more effort with 
the marshal, and on Saturday, the 17th, sent him the fol- 
lowing letter: 

"J. B. Donaldson, U. S. Marshal of K. T. .- — Dear Sir: 
We desire to call your attention, as citizens of Kansas, to 
the fact that a large force of armed men have collected in 
the vicinity of Lawrence, and are engaged in committing 
depredations upon our citizens — stopping wagons, arrest- 
ing, threatening, and robbing unoffending travelers upon 
the liighway — breaking open boxes of merchandise, and 
appropriating their contents — have slaughtered cattle, and 
terrified many of the women and children. 

"We have also learned from Gov. Sliannon, that 'there 
are no armed forces in the vicinity of this place, but the 
regularly constituted militia of the territory.' This is to 
ask you if 3'ou recognize them as your posse, and feel 
responsible for their acts If you do not, we hope and 
trust you will prevent a repetition of such acts, and give 
peace to the settlers. 

"On behalf of the citizens, 

"C. W. Baecock, 
Lvinian Allen, 
J. A. Perry." 

Col. Eldridge, with his brother, being desirous, if possi- 
ble, to save the new hotel, of which he was the proprietor, 
went to Lecompton on the i8th, Sunday. Gov. Shannon 
talked with them of sending for the troops, to have them 
stationed at Lawrence, to protect the citizens from the 
marshal's mob, while they made tlie arrests; their arms to 
be given into the keeping of the troops, until the search 



276 KANSAS. 

was over and the posse gone. This proposition was 
to be made to the people of Lawrence, and the Messrs. 
Eldridge were to return on the morrow to report their 
decision. This they did. The proposal had been acceded 
to by the citizens of Lawrence. 

Gov. Shannon declared, on the 19th, that their arms 
must be delivered to the posse; that the hotel and printing- 
presses must be destroyed; else — let the reason of this wise 
execution of the law be taken note of — "the South Caro- 
linians will not be satisfied." The Messrs. Eldridge im- 
mediately replied, that "This the people of Lawrence will 
never do; they will fight first." When this partisan gov- 
ernor, the weak tool of South Carolina and Missouri, 
leaving the room, said, "Then war it is, by G — dl" 

On Monday also word came into Lawrence of the murder 
of a young man by the name of Jones, the support of his 
widowed mother. He had been to Lawrence for a bag of 
meal, and, returning, was ordered to halt, by a band of 
the marshal's posse, near Blanton's Bridge. He obeyed 
the order of the ruffianly assassins, and they disarmed him. 
Then they ordered him to proceed, and as he did so, two 
of the posse exclaimed, "Let's shoot the d — d abolitionist!" 
Suiting the action to the word, the balls sped on their 
swift errand, and the recording angel wrote against the 
names of some high in power another murder. 

Several young men immediately left Lawrence to go to 
the spot where young Jones fell a victim to the bloody 
tools of slavery; and about a mile from Lawrence they met 
two men from Westport. Another ball did the bidding of 
the slave interest, and another witness appeared against 
its supporters in the high court where perjury enters not, 
and packed juries are unknown. 

The body of young Stewart, so lately come among us, 
was brought into town, and laid in the hotel. So sudden 
was his passage from this to the unseen life that the placid 
countenance wore, not the aspect of death, but the beauti- 
ful repose of a dreamy sleep. 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRKXCE. 277 

Illinois furnished the first victim. Will she hear the 
startled cry of young Jones, "O God, I am shot!" and the 
desolate plaint of the widowed one, now mourning like 
Israel's singer, "My son, my son, would God I had died 
for thee?" Will she do her uttermost to strike down the 
black piratical flag, borne aloft by her traitorous son, con- 
tinually hissing, "I will subdue you?" 

New York, in the murder of one of her young men, is 
reminded of the peril of all who bow not their knee to the 
Moloch of slaver}'. 

The Messrs. Eldridge returned to Lawrence. The peo- 
ple still loving the United States government, and having 
declared that they would never resist its authority, although 
the tyranny of the present administration is without its 
parallel in history, they refused all the proffered aid of the 
neighboring settlements, notwithstanding they well knew 
that with a small force they could have wiped out all these 
"territorial bands of militia" as easily as the melting away 
of the mist before the sun-rising. 

It was necessary that the peace should be preserved 
under all these provocations, that the whole countr}' might 
realize the sincerity of their declarations to obey the gen- 
eral government, notwithstanding the upholders of the 
administration have so loudly stigmatized them as "trai- 
tors" and "rebels." It was necessary that the whole 
country should be convinced of the real meaning of the 
words, "enforcing the laws," used so often by United 
States ofificials in the territory, as well as at Washington. 

The proposition was made to have men armed, and at a 
proper distance from Lawrence to protect the inhabitants, 
should any outrages be attempted after the arrests were 
made. This seemed plausible; but would the apathetic, 
money-loving North believe this was the real object for 
which any means of defence had been prepared? Would 
not the border ruffian papers in the North, even the few 
which taint the moral atmosphere of fair New England, 
howl with another crv of rebellion in Kansas? So the 



278 KANSAS 

people of Kansas feared; and the cool, calm heads of Law- 
rence decided, while the pale faces of two unburied victims 
attested to the malignancy of the slave power, and warned 
them of the imminency of their own peril, that, come out- 
rage, pillage and death, at the bidding of United States 
officials, they would occupy a right position before the 
American people, and before wondering Europe, who sees 
freedom lie bleeding in a boasted republic. 

Do any charge them with cowardice? Let them leave 
their quiet homes, where just laws hold wicked men in 
check, and the public safety is inviolate, and dwell where 
continued outrage and murder stalk abroad in the light of 
day, — where the United States government counsels vio- 
lence, and is the real perpetrator of these wrongs, — and 
then, removed from the help of friends, with hordes of 
these vile men threatening their destruction, their extermi- 
nation, lay by all means of self-defence, and with the calm 
spirit of endurance wait the issue. Is there not rather the 
sublimest courage in the act, and a beautiful, silent ex- 
pression of their faith in the eternal law of right; that in 
reality "our wrongs will be our strength?" Thus the peo- 
ple thought, and, laying by their arms in safe places, they 
waited the action of the United States Marshal. 

Tuesday, the 20th, was a still, calm day. O how calm 
it was! The hurrying bands of horsemen, brutal in their 
aspect, and uncouth, that had been for days fiying over the 
prairies, making a blot on creation's fair face, were nowhere 
to be seen. No more the vile men, in companies of two, 
three, or more, came spying about the dwelling on Mount 
Oread, to ask for water, and saying "The head of the house 
is not at home?" knowing well by what acts of villainy he 
was taken prisoner at Lexington, and was yet a prisoner. 
So perfect was the semblance of quiet and peace, that a 
little party, who sat in the evening's twilight, in front of 
the same dwelling, wondered if indeed the threatened evil 
might not again pass by, as on so many previous occasions. 
A smaller guard than usual were actually on the watch. 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 279 

But, when the morning sun arose on the 21st of May. 1856, 
hordes of men, armed with United States muskets, were 
marshalled upon Mt. Oread. While wronged innocence 
had slept quietly, they in the darkness had gained the 
height. The fair summit of Oread never before witnessed 
such an assemblage of creatures calling themselves men. 
Humanity stands aghast at the idea of brotherhood with 
such a ragged, filthy, besotted set. But it is onl}' tools the 
slave power wants, and these could steal, plunder and kill. 
What more does the administration ask of its supporters 
in crushing Kansas? If peace had been desired, the United 
States troops would still have been called into service, for 
in no instance had resistance been offered them. Colonel 
Sumner was not the officer whom Gov. Shannon dared ask 
to batter down a civilized town, and destroy presses; and 
his soldiers have the hearts of men in their bosoms, and, 
with too little alacrity to please government officials in 
Kansas, have they hunted down peaceable men. Hence 
the governor left them at Leavenworth, and relied upon 
his mongrel crew of Carolinians, Alabamians, and Missou- 
rians, as better instruments to do his bidding. This is 
why, on the last week of spring, the morning air freighted 
with perfume of flowers, and the carol of birds, on Mount 
Oread, was mingled with oaths and ribald songs, as it as- 
cended to heaven. Between the hours of eight and nine 
o'clock a part of this band moved down from Capitol Hill, 
above our house, nearer the town, upon the table land 
where the house stood. Runners were sent down to Mas- 
sachusetts street in the forenoon, and they reported, on 
their return to the hill, ''AH quiet in Lawrence; the few 
men there busy about their usual emplo3-ments." The five 
hundred men on Mt. Oread had divided into two parties, 
one of which surrounded our house; the other planted their 
cannon on the brow of the hill. About eleven o'clock, W. 
P. Fain, United States Deputy Marshal, with eight men, 
went into the town. They went directly to the hotel, and 
were respectfully received. The marshal summoned four 



28o KANSAS. 

prominent citizens of Lawrence to assist him in arresting 
others of our citizens. Without resistance, Judge G. W. 
Smith and G. W. Dietzler were arrested. Col. Eldridge 
had but just removed his famil}' to Lawrence, and this was 
the first public dinner given in the hotel. Marshal Fain, 
with his posse and prisoners, partook of the hospitality of 
the house. Col. Eldridge then took the prisoners and a 
part of the posse to our house, which had been taken pos- 
session of, by the "legally authorized militia," for their 
headquarters. The United States Marshal then dismissed 
his monster posse of two hundred and fifty horsemen, and 
five hundred infantr}-, telling them "he had no further use 
for them, but Sheriff Jones has writs to execute, and they 
were at liberty to organize as his posse." 

Sheriff Jones, who, through all the border papers, had 
been reported "dead," and "dying," rode forward, and was 
received with yells of applause. He spoke to the motley 
group of his attempted assassination, and informed them 
of certain writs in his hands, and asked their aid. 

About one o'clock, a't the head of a posse of twenty or 
twenty-five mounted men, armed with United States mus- 
kets and bayonets, this immortal sheriff rode into Law- 
rence, to the door of the hotel, and asked for General 
Pomeroy. This gentleman soon answering the summons, 
Jones said, "I have been resisted several times in this 
place, and attempts have been made to assassinate me. 
Now I am determined to execute the law, if it costs me my 
life. I demand of you, as the most prominent man in the 
place, the surrender of all the cannon and Sharpe's rifles 
you have;" and, taking out his watch, he added, "I give 
you five minutes to decide whether you will give them up." 
He said, moreover, "I am authorized to make this demand 
by the First District Court of the United States.'" 

Gen. Pomeroy went to the committee room, and, return- 
ing in a few minutes, said, "The cannon will be delivered 
up, but the rifles are private property, and will be retained." 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 201 

The cannon* was taken out of its safe retreat by General 
Pomeroy. Cheerfully, until then, our people had looked 
on; but it was too humiliating to give up this brass twelve- 
pounder, which had been welcomed with shouts, during 
the fall invasion, strengthening their means of defence when 
the peril was imminent. The curses of the few free-state 
bo3'S yet remaining in town (most having left when they 
found no defence was to be made) were muttered, but deep, 
and the dissatisfaction was general. 

In the mean time, the forces, variously estimated from 
five hundred to eight hundred, had been marched down to 
tlie base of the hill and formed into a hollow square. Gen. 
D. R. Atchison made the following speech, which was re- 
ceived by the unceasing yells of the crowd: 

"Boys, this day I am a Kickapoo Ranger, by G — d! 
This da}' we have entered Lawrence wirh Southern Rights 
inscribed upon our banner, and not one d — d abolitionist 
dared to fire a gun. 

"Now, boys, this is the happiest day of my life. We 
have entered that d — d town, and taught the d — d aboli- 
tionists a Southern lesson that they will remember until the 
day they die. And now, boys, we will go in again, with 
our highly honorable Jones, and test the strength of that 
d — d Free-State Hotel, and teach the Emigrant Aid Com- 
pany that Kansas shall be ours. Boys, ladies should, and 
I hope will, be respected by every gentleman. But, when 
a woman takes upon herself the garb of a soldier, by carry- 
ing a Sharpe's rifle, then she is no longer worthy of respect. 
Trample her under your feet as you would a snake! 

"Come on, boys' Now do your duty to yourselves and 
your Southern friends. 

"Your duty, I know you will do. If one man or woman 
dare stand before } on, blow them to h — .1 with a chunk of 
cold lead." 



*Th»» old Sacramento purchased and sent Ijy Horace Greeley aiid'Otber 
New Yorlc friends, was broujrlit into Lawreuc during our first siege iu 
December. liS.'i.i. H'or tlie joy it gave us on its first coming, it has always 
been treasured. It lia^ been" fired on tlie Foutli ')f July, and other patriotic 
days. A few summers ago three of our town's people liad beeu drowned in 
the Kansas. Hoping to raise them too heavy a load was put into tlie old 
gun atid it burst . 



202 KANSAS. 

As soon as he had concluded, the militia moved towards 
the town in solid column, until near the hotel, when the 
advance company halted. Jones told Col. Eldridge the 
hotel must be destroyed; he was acting under orders; he 
had writs issued by the First District Court of the United 
States to d.estroy the Free-State Hotel, and the offices of 
the Herald of Freedom and Free State. The grand jury at 
Lecompton had indicted them as nuisances, and the court 
had ordered them to be destroyed. The following is a 
copy of such indictment: 

"The Grand Jury sitting for the adjourned term of the 
First District Court, in and for the County of Douglas, in 
the Territory of Kansas, beg leave to report to the Honor- 
able Court that, from evidence laid before them showing 
that the newspaper known as The Herald of Freedom, pub- 
lished at the town of Lawrence, has from time to time 
issued publications of the most inflammatory and seditious 
character — 'denying the legality of the territorial authorities; 
addressing and commanding forcible resistence to the 
same; demoralizing the popular mind, and rendering life 
and property unsafe, even to the extent of advising assas- 
sination as a last resort. 

"Also, tliat the paper known as Tlie Kansas Free-State 
has been similarly engaged, and has recently reported the 
resolutions of a public meeting in Johnson County, in this 
territory, in which resistance to the territorial laws even 
unto blood has been agreed upon. And that we respect- 
fully recommend their abatement as a nuisance. Also, 
that we are satisfied that the building known as the 'Free- 
State Hotel,' in Lawrence, has been constructed with the 
view to military occupation and defence, regularly para- 
peted and portholed for the use of cannon and small arms, 
and could only have been designed as a stronghold of re- 
sistance to law, thereby endangering the public safety and 
encouraging rebellion and sedition in this country, and 
respectfully recommend that steps be taken whereby this 

nuisance may be removed. 

"OwKN C. Stewakt, Foreman. 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 283 

Jones gave Col. Eldridge from that time — about half 
past three o'clock — until five o'clock to remove his family 
and furniture, which it had taken weeks to put in order. 
Seeing the impossibility of removing the furniture, Col. 
Eldridge said, "he had bought the furniture to furnish the 
hotel, not to stand in the streets." Longer time for the 
removal being denied, he said, "Give me time to remove 
my family (a sick daughter being of the number), that is 
all I ask." A part of the furniture was thrown out by the 
rabble, mirrors and marble-top tables being thrown from 
the windows. The house had been furnished at an expense 
of ten thousand dollars, and was by far the most elegant 
house west of St. Louis. The cellar was stored with pro- 
visions, advantage having been taken of the high water in 
the Kansas to bring up several months' supply. 

The posse, growing weary of removing furniture, even in 
tlie expeditious manner of dropping it from the windows, 
began to ransack drawers, cupboards, and cellar, carrying 
with them boxes of cigars, wines, oysters, sardines, cans of 
fruit, etc. 

This "legally organized militia" came into Lawrence with 
banners flying. We thank them heartily, that the United 
States flag was not desecrated by waving over their pollu- 
tion. They had chosen their banners with singular appro- 
priateness. One was a white flag with black stripes, and 
one had a white star on a red surface. This banner bore 
the inscription "Southern Rights," and on the opposite 
side was "South Carolina" in black paint. Another flag 
had, in blue letters on a white ground, 

"Let Yankees tremble, abolitionists fall, 
Our motto is give Southern Rights to all." 

Tlie precise bearing of these mottoes upon Marshal 
Donaldson's writs has not yet been explained. 

The Free State office was first destroyed, the press being 
thrown into the river, while exchange papers and books 
were thrown into the street, and destroyed. The types of 
the Herald of Freedom office were also put into the Kansas, 



284 KANSAS. 

and the press broken. The red flag of the South Caroli- 
nians was first hoisted up on this office, and in about fifteen 
minutes was removed to the hoteL The building was 
fired several times, but put out by the braver}' of some of 
the 3'oung men in Lawrence, who were not deterred by the 
threats of the mob. Sheriff Jones placed two companies 
to carry the types of the offices to the river, and break the 
presses. 

After the red flag had been hoisted upon the hotel, four 
cannons were stationed about one hundred and five feet 
distant from it, and pointing towards it. The first com- 
mand was given to fire, and the balls went far above the 
hotel, and over into the ravine beyond the town. When 
the cannonading commenced, it was thought prudent for 
women and children to leave the town, and many went 
across the ravine to some houses west of Lawrence. 
Thirty-t-ioo balls were fired, doing little damage to the hotel, 
the balls easily going through the concrete. Was the 
number significant of the admission of Kansas into the 
sisterhood of states? The walls of the hotel stood firmly, 
almost uninjured, and the patience of the posse, at so slow 
a progress, was getting weary. ^ Their anticipations had 
been disappointed; for, on the first fire, the cry had been 
raised, "Now here she goes I" 

Amid the continued roar of the eighteen, twelve, and si.\ 
pounder, the yells were terrific. By all who listened, it is 
averred they never before had heard such unearthly sounds. 
Some kegs of powder were carried into the cellar; for 
"law and order" was not blind, and the continued display 
of plunder gained by others of the mob excited their cove- 
tousness, and a more summary way of "removing the 
nuisance" was desired. The result was only a little smoke, 
and the shivering of a few windows. The order was then 
given to the military commander, Col. Titus, just arrived 
from Florida, to fire the building. By setting fires in each 
of the rooms, the large hotel was destroyed, nearly the 
entire wall falling in. 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 285 

At the commencement of the cannonading, Jones had 
been asked, ''Can you feel no pity for the sufferings you 
have caused?" 

His reply was, "The laws must be executed." And, 
turning to two of his posse, he said, "Gentlemen, this is 
the happiest day of my life, I assure 5'ou. I determined to 
make the fanatics bow before me in the dust, and kiss the 
territorial laws." 

Then, as another round was fired, with a bitter, scornful 
sneer he said, "I have done it, by G — d! I have done it!" 

When the walls of the hotel had fallen in, he turned to 
his posse and said, cooly, "You are dismissed; the writs 
ha^ve been executed." 

This was the signal for a general plunder of private 
houses, and as the drunken gang rushed from place to 
place, they took anything of value upon which their eyes 
fell. They rifled trunks, taking letters, money, drafts, 
apparel, both ladies' and gentlemen's, and destroyed any- 
thing that would break, even to daguerreotypes and chil- 
dren's toys. Before the day was over, many of the citizens 
recognized, upon the before ragged persons of the militia, 
a hat, coat, vest, or pair of pantaloons, to which they had 
had previous title, with some of the heavy curtain-cords 
and tassels, taken from the hotel, worn around them in 
lieu of sashes; and, with expensive silk or satin dresses on 
their arms, they marched about, evidently elated with their 
transformation. In many houses, whatever they left was 
mutilated and defaced, and the people, on returning to 
their homes, found only a wreck of those things which had 
conduced to their comfort. Stores were broken open. 
Letters were pilfered from the post-office, and opened. 
From the same building, occupied as a store. Dr. String- 
fellow carried off under each arm a box of cigars, having 
helped himself to them behind the counter, saying as he 
did so, "Well, boys, I guess this is as good plunder as I 
want." He was particularly busy during the day in incit- 
ing the heroic band to such deeds of valor. Major Buford, 



286 KANSAS. 

of Alabama, was also conspicuous as a leader. Mr. 
Hutchinson's store was broken into b}' Col. Titus, saj'ing, 
"I think there are Sharpe's rifles in there; stave her in, 
boys, if she is locked!" They obeyed him by breaking in 
the windows with the butts of their guns, and then crawled 
in through the aperture. 

The cry of "There's Reeder trying to escape!" at one 
time caused some excitement. One of the ruffians, at- 
tempting to shoot the man, who did not prove to be Gov. 
Reeder, while his horse was on a full gallop, fell from it 
and broke his leg. Another was killed instantly by the 
falling of a brick from the hotel. The South Carolina flag, 
waving on the roof, whipped it off one of the chimneys. • ' 

Some ladie.<^, sitting upon College Hill west of the town, 
during the cannonading, were fired upon by a party of 
Buford's men, who came from town. When about a hun- 
dred yards distant, they levelled their guns at them delib- 
erately, and, without one word being said, fired. The balls 
went whizzing through the air near the ladies. South Car- 
olina's gallant sons then threw down their guns and shouted, 
while swinging their hats, "Hurrah for South Carolina! 
Down with the abolitionists! Slavery in Kansas, by G — d!" 

Again they picked up their arms, and levelled them to- 
wards the ladies, who were standing still, looking at them, 
when one of the four said, "Don't fire; I would n't." Then, 
singing Katy Darling and Lily Dale, they went up the hill. 

Our house was nearly vacated as night approached, and 
a neighbor, Mr. Palmer, passing, stepped in to see how 
matters looked. Furniture, which had been thrown out of 
the house, he set back, and finding only one of the Mis- 
sourians in the lower rooms, and he busily engaged in 
looking for liquors, tlie way into the cellar, etc., he went 
up stairs. In one room, a man with gloves on was rum- 
maging bureau drawers. He had a large pile of letters in 
one hand, and a daguerreotype in the other. Trunks 
which had been locked were opened, their contents strewed 
everywhere, and a fire was blazing in the bed. After 



THE ATTACK UPON LAWRENCE. 287 

throwing the bed out of the window, this friend went into 
another chamber, and put out the fire which was kindled 
in a closet. 

This man, so busily prying into bureau drawers and 
private correspondence, was one of the principal men in 
the "law-and-order party." O, southern honor! how her 
gloss has become dim, when her chief men, the self-con- 
stituted champions of southern institutions, attempt to gain 
their ends by stealing private correspondence, and pillag- 
ing a lady's bureau drawers! 

About seven o'clock, the semi-human creatures began to 
leave the town. The large covered wagons, which stood 
near our house to receive the spoils, moved off. Houses 
out of town, which had escaped molestation, were opened 
for the reception of the destitute and homeless. 

About nine o'clock the flames burst forth from the home 
on Mt. Oread, and the "legally organized militia" had 
completed their work. Many thousand dollars' worth of 
property had been destroyed. People had been robbed of 
their all. Lawrence was destroyed; and the President 
bears the signal honor. Crown his brows with asphodel 
and wormwood, ye American people, for he has wrought 
for your fellow-countrjmien bitterness and woe! 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE '-REIGN OF TERROR" IN KANSAS. 

The end is not yet. While these outrages -were being 
committed, and fiend-like, with hideous yells, these officials 
rushed from spot to spot, to make the ruin complete, the 
people of Lawrence looked on in silence. They could 
hardly believe that men could be so transformed into de- 
mons of darkness, or that these acts were committed at 
the instigation of United States appointees. But cheerful, 
for the most part, was the silence. It is ever better that 
the foe one contends with should be clothed in his own 
panoply. If that panoply be sin, darkness, degradation, 
let them form the external covering. So, now, the slave 
power, blood-thirsty, and still crying more victims, had 
sent its own tools, — ragged, ignorant, debauched, semi- 
.savages, the very offshoot and growth of its peculiar insti- 
tution, — to destroy a quiet town; to steal, destroy, and 
outrage its inhabitants. The work has been accomplished. 
The first time in the history of the American people has an 
American town been besieged and its inhabitants robbed, 
by forces acting under the instructions of U. S. officers. 
Every outrage committed was in direct violation of that 
act in the constitution, which provides for the rights of the 
people in their persons, houses, papers and effects; but it 
was done by the administration, acting as the servile tool 
of the slave power. Can any freeman decide what other 
provision of the constitution cannot as easily be set aside, 
when it stands in the way of the slave power's subduing 
intentions? Was it ever heard of in this country, or in 



THK ••ri:k;n of tkrror ix Kansas. 289 

England, befoit- the times of Judge Lecompte, that a judge 
had legal authority to order the destruction of a press, 
which the grand jury, under his instructions, might find a 
nuisance? Are one and all the presses in this country 
exposed to momentary irruptions upon them? \\'e boast 
of the freedom of the American press. But let the bold 
assertion that freedom of speech, of action, and the press, 
is the birthright of an American citizen, no longer be 
heard. 

Louis Napoleon gave three distinct and formal warnings, 
in the last French revolution, before dealing the fatal blow. 
But it was reserved for the administration, in the year 1856, 
in the year of our independence the eightieth, to summa- 
rily demolish a free press as a nuisance, and to bombard a 
little town on the western frontier. ••O, shame! where is 
thy blush?" 

If the American people desire the discontinuance of such 
unprecedented horrors, let them awake to the designs of the 
slave interest. Let them shake off the shackles which are 
continually growing more galling. The power which has 
struck this blow in Kansas meditates no less designs on 
any other part of the free North, when the opportune 
moment arrives. 

Lieut. Warren D. Wilkes, of the South Carolina ban- 
ditti, one of the self-constituted regulators in the territory, 
wrote the following to the Cliarleston Mercury: 

''The importance of .securing Kansas for the South may 
be briefly set forth in a positive and negative form: 

"I. By consent of parties, the present contest in Kan- 
sas is made the turning point in the destinies of slavery 
and abolitionism. If the South triumphs, abolitionism 
will be defeated and shorn of its power for all time. If 
she is defeated, abolitionism will grow more insolent and 
aggressive, until the utter ruin of the South is consummated. 

"2. If the South Secures Kansas, sJie ivill extend slavery 
into all territory south of the fortieth parallel of north latitude, 
to the Rio Grande, and this of course -will secure for her pent-up 



2gO KANSAS. 

institutions of slavery an ample outlet, and restore Iter power 
i)i Congress. If the North secures Kansas, the power of the 
South in Congress will be gradually diminished: the states 
of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee. Arkansas and Texas, 
together with the adjacent territories will gradually become 
abolitionized, and the slave population, confined to the 
states east of the Mississippi, will become valueless. All 
depends upon the action of the present moment." 

On the 22d of May, the Platte County Rifle Company — 
one hundred armed horsemen, under the lead of Gen. D. 
R. Atchison — passed through Lawrence, over the ferry, on 
their way back to Missouri. They clenched their guns 
nervously, but no one offered them any molestation. In 
safety they passed through the town they had helped to 
devastate. 

The threats of the men were bitter against the hotel at 
Kansas City. Murder and robbery were the order of the 
day. The horses and other property of free-state men 
were continually pillaged by the "chivalry," and traveling 
in the territory was unsafe. When the "militia" left Law- 
rence on the 2 1 St of May, it was with the design of attack- 
ing Topeka. But a messenger having been dispatched to 
Gov. Shannon, at Lecompton, with the report that "To- 
peka was on the march to destroy Tecumseh," Gov. 
Shannon sent to Col. Sumner for troops to be stationed at 
Topeka, to preserve order. An appeal had previously been 
sent to him from the citizens of Topeka. but they had no 
expectation of the granting of their request. 

After Lawrence was destroyed, Gov. Shannon ordered 
troops there also to preserve the peace. A part of the '"mili- 
tia," after leaving the sack of Lawrence, proceeded to 
Fish's, the Shawnee Indian's. Having put him under 
guard, they robbed his house and store, took everything 
which could be eaten from his house, tore up the fences, 
and took his horses from the wagons. The reason was, 
his sympathies were with the free-state men. 

A party of the southern youth encamped between Kansas 



THE "REIGN OF TERROR" IN KANSAS. 2gi 

City and \\^estport, and robbed all teams which passed, 
even stopping the mail, and examining the way-bill, 
on the 2oth. 22d and 23d of May. Capt. H. C. Pate 
was the leader of the gang. He examined papers, 
trunks, valises and carpet-sacks. He obliged some of the 
passengers to take off their boots, that he might look into 
them. One passenger, upon whom he found a letter, he 
detained. When the driver grew impatient, and would 
have gone along, a man passed around in front of the 
horses, and presented a pistol at him. Coleman, the mur- 
derer, also threatened the mail-carrier so repeatedly that 
he spoke to Col. Boone, P. M. at Westport, of the matter, 
and he advised him to leave the line, and get some one else 
to drive in his place, as "Coleman was a desperate man." 
While such outrages Avere being committed between 
Kansas City and Lawrence, the reign of terror was com- 
plete at Leavenworth. On the morning of the 28th an 
exciting extra, issued at the office of the Westport N'e^vs, 
headed "War! Warl" was received at Leavenworth. The 
ruffians immediately held a secret session, and appointed 
themselves a vigilance committee. All persons, who could 
not answer "All right on the goose," according to their 
definition of right, were searched, kept under guard, and 
threatened with death by the rope or rifle. A company, 
under the lead of Warren D. Wilkes, of South Carolina, 
armed with United States muskets and bayonets, were 
paraded through the different streets of the town. They 
surrounded the house where a portion of the investigating 
committee boarded, while two or three entered and took 
prisoner Judge W. F. Conway, who was acting for the 
committee in the capacity of clerk. Forming a hollow 
square, and placing him in the center, they marched through 
several streets. As they passed the office of Miles INIoore, 
the Attorney General under the free-state constitution, they 
arrested him, also M. J. Parrott, a law partner of IMoore. 
Mr. Sherman, one of the investigating committee, was con- 
versing with them at the time, and Mr. Sherman inquired 



292 



KANSAS. 



of Wilkes "if he arrested one of the clerks of the commit- 
tee upon any legal process." He replied "he had not, but, 
at all hazards, he should arrest those whose names he had 
on his list." 

Attacks were nightly threatened upon the hoLKes of those 
free-state men who had stood firmly by their principles, 
and the committee were in hourly danger of violence. A 
threatening message was sent them with the significant 
signature of "Capt. Hemp." Violence had been con- 
templated both against the committee and my husband. 
It was rather too bold a step to attack the United States 
officials. 

The exact state of things at this time may be better 
realized by statements of prisoners in the camp of the 
invaders. Dr. Root and Mr. Mitchell had been taken 
prisoners about the 15th May. being fired upon by a part 
of the marshal's posse. The balls whizzed about them 
fearfully, and finally they reined in their mules and asked 
the reason of such a murderous fire. Their answer was 
substantially that, in firing before ordering a halt, they had 
acted in obedience to the marshal's orders. The prisoners 
were taken by the ruffians one mile and a half to the en- 
campment, and their pistols and valuable papers were taken 
from them by Capt. John Donaldson, the auditor. They 
were then put under guard. The reason of their detention 
was not given, but a promise was made that they should 
be told in the morning. Letters which Mr. Mitchell was 
carrying from the mail at Lawrence, to a friend, and sup- 
posed to contain several hundred dollars, were taken from 
him. 

The next forenoon they were ordered to appear in the 
august presence of Dr. Stringfellow, who. however, gave 
no reason for the detention, but stated tliat he was acting 
wholly under the command of the United States Marshal. 
Sometimes they had two meals a day, and sometimes were 
deprived of food for twenty-four hours. The consolation, 
that '"prisoners often fared worse, and they deserved to be 



THE ••REIGN OF TERROR I\ KANSAS. 293 

hung." was freely given. On the fifth day of their im- 
prisonment, having fasted twenty-four hours, the ruffians 
ordered Mr. Mitchell to cook something for himself and 
Dr. Root. On his declining to do so, never having been 
educated in the culinary department, he was commanded 
to appear immediately at Dr. Stringfellow's tent. There 
he was pressed upon by officers and men, crying "Kill 
the d — d rascal!" "Hang him. hang him!" At the same 
time a rope was thrown over his head, the men springing 
for the other end. Mr. INIitchell, being of agile motions, 
avoided this new test of the mercy of the ruffians. Seven 
prisoners were in camp at this time, whom Dr. Stringfellow 
insulted by asking the most disgusting questions, such as 
"Would you steal a nigger?" ••Would you sleep with a 
nigger?" etc. The principal theme of conversation, in 
the camp was the proposed destruction of Lawrence. 

The night before the bombarding, the prisoners were 
marched about six miles, and within two miles of Law- 
rence, being guarded on all sides by United States muskets 
in the hands of Southerners and ]\Iissourians. The ground 
was wet with heavy dew, and as they reached the tent 
about nine o'clock. Avithout any blanket under or over 
them, they were obliged to take what rest such accommo- 
dations and such surroundings might afford. After the 
marshal's posse had finished breakfast, they were drawn 
up into a hollow square, and into this Marshal Donaldson 
and Gen. D. R. Atchison were introduced. The red flag, 
with the lone white star, and "Southern Rights" and 
"South Carolina." floated over them. The marshal gave 
his orders for the day, and loud hurrahs rent the air. Then 
"Old Dave" was greeted with yells terrific. The green 
prairies almost trembled with the hideous sound. The 
tall form of him who had been vice-president of the United 
States was seated on his beautiful horse, now waving this 
hand, and now that, as he pointed first to their southern 
homes, and then to the doomed city. Surrounded by the 
restless mass of brutal men, he urged them on to deeds of 



294 KANSAS. 

violence, "not to leave it or the territory until they have 
quenched out every vestige of free-state principles." 

A little time more elapsed, when the cavalry under the 
command of Col. Titus, Major Clark, etc., came up from 
Lawrence, where they had been to learn of their defences. 
They reported there were no signs of defence, and there was 
exceeding joy manifested; this kind of fighting suited 
them. Before noon all the posse had left the camp, save 
about twenty-five in charge of the prisoners. At about 
three o'clock. United States Marshal Donaldson came and 
asked for the prisoners of the sergeant, who fired upon 
them at the time of the arrest, and others standing by. 
He asked the reason of their detention with all the dignity 
his ofifice imposed upon him. No one was able to make 
any charge against them. His orders alone were the occa- 
sion of the detention. When arrested, the following 
receipt was given for articles taken: "Dr. J. P. Root, one 
mule, bridle, saddle, two Whitney's revolvers, brass spurs, 
blanket, lariettes. " 

The following general order was given: "Capt. Don- 
aldson and other captains will release all the within named 
prisoners immediately after the reception of this order, and 
all their property to be restored to them without delay." 

There was also this order: 

'•Let Dr. J. P. Root pass unmolested. He is entitled 
to receive his mule, saddle, bridle, spurs, blanket, lariettes, 
and two Whitney's revolvers. 

"J. B. Donaldson. 

•'May 21, 1856. U. S. Mars /ml.'' 

Addressed to ''Captain J. Doiw/soii, Prcstnt.''' 

The release was effected as the firing" upon the hotel com- 
menced; and against the advice of the U. S. Marshal, who 
saw danger in the attempt to go to Lawi^ence, they made 
their way thither. When half way there tlley met the 
sergeant who arrested thini at first. With an appearance of 



IHK ••RKI(;N of 'IF.RROR IX I.AWRKNCK. 295 

sincerity, he advised them not to enter into the besieged 
town, as ''he knew the men better than they did, and it 
was not safe for them to go further." In the conversation 
with the U. S. Marshal, something in regard to the fare 
they had received was said by the guard, when a native of 
fair Erin, who was an ofificer of the day, stepped forward, 
and, in a low, rich brogue, with hand uplifted, and a truly 
dramatic style, said, "This abuse these men have received 
is registered in heaven." 

On the 22d, Dr. Root, accompanied by Mr. Mitchell, 
visited Marshal Donaldson at Lecompton, to recover their 
property. The marshal had acknowledged by his orders, 
his responsibility in the arrest and robbery, but he refused 
to give up the goods. While there Dr. Root saw a bill of 
sundries charged to the U. S. Marshal's posse. The whole 
bill amounted to $370.85, which comprised whiskey at 
Si. 00 per gallon, and French brandy at $8.00 per gallon. 
The bill was accepted, and no fault found except for a 
charge of five gallons of whiskey, which at first was claim- 
ed not to have been received. While they sat in the office 
of the marshal. Col. Titus and a man by the name of 
Elliott came in. Titus, with oaths, was talking about 
Capt. Walker, a brave free-state man, a native of Ohio. 
He said "he would have his head, on or off his shoulders, 
and for it he would give any man five hundred dollars." 
In this his faithful ally, Elliott, joined, and the marshal, 
as usual, ready to do the vile work of killing honorable 
men, said. 'Tf you wish it I will send a posse immediately 
for him." It is such men as these who receive from the 
government daily wages in the glorious employment of 
hunting, robbing and killing innocent men, on this w^estern 
soil. 

The principal officers in the camp were D. R. Atchison, 
Col. Buford, Col. Abel (law partner of Gen. Stringfellow), 
Dr. Stringfellow, Col. Titus, and other men of similar 
stamp. Such are the men, residents of Missouri, and 
Georgians, and Floridians, just arrived in the territory. 



2g6 KANSAS. 

upon whom Marshal Donaldson called to assist him in 
"enforcing the laws." 

Information being reliably received by Capt. Walker 
that his house was to be burned by the --law-and-order" 
party, a few neighbors gathered to protect it. About 
midnight a party of twelve men came down the Lecompton 
road, and halted in front of the house. As they were 
fastening their horses to the paling, the party in the house 
fired upon them, killing a horse in the gateway, and se- 
verely wounding one man. In the scattering of the "law- 
and-order" party which followed, two or three hats, several 
bowie-knives, and two Sharpe's rifles, taken at the sack of 
Lawrence, were left as relics. Also a part of a coat-skirt, 
with a bottle of whiskey in the pocket, was left hanging to 
the paling, which gave the impression of the owner having 
made a desperate leap for life. Gov. Shannon's son was 
of the party. 

The next day. Gov. Shannon made himself busy drinking 
whiskey, and outraging peaceable citizens in their own 
houses. He and his party, Col. Titus and confreres, were 
met upon the California road by several ladies, and Gov. 
Shannon was so drunk he reeled backward and forward, on 
his horse, scarcely keeping his seat. Upon reaching home, 
he staggered around, holding upon the furniture to keep 
himself from falling. He was busy feeling mattresses, 
peeping into closets, emptying trunks, looking under 
beds, and using language which shocked those obliged to 
listen. 

At the house of a Mr. Hazeltyne, which he visited in 
this drunken condition, he inquired of Mrs. Hazeltyne for 
her husband; upon her replying that she did not know 
where he was, the Governor of Kansas Territory replied. 
"I'll cut his d — d black heart out of him. and yours too, 
madam, if you don't take care." Gov. Shannon called the 
same day at the house of Capt. Thoms, and the following 
conversation passed between Gov. Shannon and the wife 
antl little daughter of Capt. Thoms. As Gov. Shannon 



THE '-RKIGX OK IF.RROR IX KANSAS. 297 

rode up to the house with his men. he asked for water, and 
then said: 

•'Who lives here?" 

Daughter. — "Capt. Thorns." 

Gov. Shannon. — --What is he captain of, — Walker's 
company?" 

"No, sir, he is a sea-captain." 

"Where is he?" 

"Gone to Lawrence." 

"What has he gone to Lawrence for? To get up a 
company, eh?" 

"No. sir. gone to get lumber to fence his claim with." 

"Fence his claim with lumber? Eh? Well, my girl, I 
am Gov. Shannon." 

At this time INIrs. Thoms came to the door from the gar- 
den, where she had been at work. Her daughter gave her 
an introduction to the governor, but she declined taking 
his extended hand, on the plea of her soiled hands. 

Gov. Shannon replied, "Never mind, madam, give me 
your hand." 

A similar conversation to the above passed, when the 
governor said, •'! am around to see who is who. who to 
have killed and who not." 

]\Irs. Thoms said. "Gov. Shannon, I hope you won't kill 
me nor mine. " 

"No, no, madam, you are peaceable citizens, an't ye, eh?" 

"Yes, sir, we ti'y to be." 

The governor, wheeling his horse, called to Col. Titus 
to come forward. "Colonel, I want you to take particular 
notice of these premises, and not have this family harmed. 
Do you hear, eh?" 

••Who did you say live here?" 

••Capt. Thoms." 

Col. Titus promised pi'otection. Then Gov. Shannon 
addressed Mrs. Thoms again. "Madam, tell your husband 
to come to Lecompton and see me: he may rest assured 
that he will find a warm-hearted friend in me." He added 



2g8 KANSAS. 

further, -'I am out to put a stop to these G — d d — d guer- 
rilla parties." 

On the last day of May, an attack was made by some 
Georgians on the house of Mr. Storrs, who lived nine miles 
from Lawrence. Since the sacking of Lawrence, they had 
been encamped in that region. They came early in the 
morning, driving before them a man who lived with Mr. 
Storrs, and had been out to hunt the cattle, firing upon 
him three times. They demanded that a very valuable 
horse standing near should be given up. Mrs. Storrs 
asked, "By what authority?" The captain of the robbers 
replied, "By the authority of Gov. Shannon, and if she 
said a word, he would shoot her; he wovild kill every d — d 
abolitionist in the territory." They took the horse. The 
family for safety moved to Lawrence. Horses were con- 
tinually being pressed into the governor's service, taken 
from teams on the highway, and in the furrow. 

At 'one place, where the presence of some young ladies 
seemed to have some effect upon the chivalry, they declar- 
ing -'they should return to Alabama in the fall, and would 
like to take some wives with them," the horses were left. 
They said, however, "they didn't know what the old man 
(meaning Gov. Shannon) would say, if he knew they 
did so." 

Arrests are in no instance made of the men who com- 
mit such outrages; none of the Georgians attacking and 
destroying private dwellings, none of the Lecompton 
gentry who make midnight sallies upon quiet settlers, ever 
being arrested; but, per contra, warrants were issued for 
all who were known to be concerned in defending Capt. 
Walker's house. 

Such is "law and order" in Kansas, whose governor, 
drunken and debauched, insults women in their own 
dwellings, with language too profane for insertion here, 
and heads gangs for searching settlers' homes. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

ARREST OF G. JENKINS AND G. W. BROWN. 

On the 14th of May, about two o'clock in the morning, 
as Mr. Jenkins and G. W. Brown were returning to their 
homes in Lawrence, they were arrested by armed men, be- 
tween Kansas City and Westport, and taken to the house 
of Milton McGee, a most bitter pro-slavery man. The 
same forenoon they were taken to the Harris house, in 
Westport, and placed under strong guard in rooms in the 
third story. Mrs. Jenkins, having received word from her 
husband, left Lawrence on Friday, p. xM. , the i6th, in a 
driving rain, and reached Westport, Saturday, p. m., about 
four or five o'clock. Mr. Jenkins' brother accompanied 
her. She found her husband quite ill from fatigue and ex- 
citement, his strength having been impaired before leaving 
home by the watching and anxiety occasioned by the severe 
illness of one of his children, as well as by the ill-treat- 
ment he had since received. Mrs. Jenkins laid aside 
bonnet and shawl. Crowder, a man who pretended to be 
one of the deputy marshals, had just been in the room to 
say that the papers they were expecting from Kansas City, 
in reference to Mr. Jenkins' release, had not come, and 
they would stay at Westport another night. Scarcely had 
he gone out, when Mr. Jenkins, seeing his horse in the 
street, a valuable one, which they had taken from him the 
night he was taken prisoner, went down with his guard to 
see if he could not have it restored to him. Mrs. Jenkins 
seated herself in one of the deep window-seats, and looked 
out upon the motley group in the street. A hack drove 



300 • KANS.^S. 

around to the door, and the loud, harshl_v-spoken words, 
"Come along," attracted her attention. The moment she 
looked her husband was literally pushed into the carriage 
by several men. Sick as he was, no time was given to get 
his overcoat, for which he asked. Almost flying down the 
two stairways, Mrs. Jenkins arrived at the door only in 
time to see the carriage driving away. She ran to Mrs. 
Brown's room, who had arrived in Westport one day before 
her, and Mr. Brown too was gone. He had been called 
down stairs on some trivial pretence, and was also forced 
into the hack. Mrs. Jenkins inquired of Mr. Harris and 
others where they were going, and why they were taken 
away in such a hurried manner. To all of which questions 
they gave indefinite answers, or plead ignorance. Before 
this, however, another hack had driven to the door, with 
fine, large horses, and the gentleman promised Mrs. Brown 
h.e would take her to her husband. He said, "he would 
drive on until he overtook the other hack." Upon Mrs. 
Jenkins asking, "if he would take her too," he replied in 
the affirmative; when a loud dispute arose among the be- 
sotted crowd, and threats of "We will shoot you, if 30U 
attempt to carry these ladies, and we'll shoot you, if you 
get into that carriage," resounded on every side, with brutal 
imprecations mingled. The man, however, took his seat 
in the carriage, and asked Mrs. Brown to get in also; but, 
as he said at this time he would only take her, she declined 
going. 

Mrs. Jenkins then found her brother. He harnessed the 
horses quickl}', which had scarcely been put in the stable, 
and they started in pursuit of the party. By asking of 
persons whom they met, "if they had seen a hack," the\' 
found they were on the track, and, about two miles from 
Westport, the}' overtook the carriage, stopped by the way, 
and its escort of twenty men preparing supper. As they 
drove up by the side of the carriage, and the astonished 
posse saw who they were, loud and bitter were the curses. 
They were told they should not stay with their husbands; 



ARREST OF G. JENKINS AND G. W. BROWN. 3OI 

but Mrs. Jenkins, excited by fears for her husband's safety, 
by the strange movements of the mob, as well as by his 
haggard looks, induced by constant illness for the last few 
days, as soon as her carriage ceased moving, was in the 
other with her husband. She did not wait for the conven- 
ience of open doors, but made her entrance through the 
window. Mrs. Brown also soon entered it, while the posse 
continually declared the ladies "should not remain in the 
hack." They said "if the ladies would return to West- 
port, where they could have comfortable quarters for the 
night, they could reach them in the morning before they 
should leave." Or, if they would go on to "Donaldson's 
(a stopping-place for travelers), they would call for them 
in the morning." 

But the reply of the ladies was the same: "We will re- 
main liy our husbands, and share their accommodations. " 
The distress of- the ladies, occasioned by the strange con- 
duct of the men, at last softened somewhat their hearts. 
They brought them supper, and said "they would use their 
influence with Capt. Pate, when he should come from 
W^estport, that they should not be separated from their 
husbands." The hack-driver declared, with feeling, "they 
should have the carriage to themselves." 

The difficulty which had been suggested by the men, of 
there being a want of room for all the posse, should the 
ladies remain in the hack, was at once remedied by Mr. 
Jenkins' offer of their carriage and his brother to drive it. 
The matter was at last adjusted, and the cortege, forgetful 
of their declaration, made again and again, that this was 
to be their camping-ground for the night, moved on. 
Horsemen in front, at the sides, and in the rear, guarded 
the prisoners in the hack. Instead of passing Donaldson's, 
where they had desired the ladies to sleep, promising to 
call for them in the morning, they took the Santa Fe road. 
Not long after they started, two horsemen, who always rode 
some distance in front of the rest, as a kind of scout, turned 
suddenly, and upon full gallop returned to the party. 



302 KANSAS. 

They reported a large body of men advancing towards 
them, and they apprehended an attack. "Haiti" was the 
word of command, given by the gallant Capt. Pate; "form 
into line!" followed with other orders in quick succession. 
For the advantage of all other brave men in similar circum- 
stances, let the facts be stated. The men were drawn up 
in readiness for battle behind the carriage in which were 
seated the prisoners. Thus, breastworks were formed 
against the approaching enemy. The courageous band 
waited. They lingered. No foe came. The two horse- 
men again went out a short distance. They wheeled and 
galloped in furiously. They reported no enemy in sight. 
Some fence stakes, in the distance, had probably looked to 
their excited imaginations like so many legions. They 
reached an Indian house about two o'clock, a. m., and, 
with oaths and curses which made the listener shudder, the 
posse attempted to sleep on the wet ground, while the oc- 
cupants of the hack got some rest, although anxieties and 
suspense made sleep broken, and of little worth. Break- 
fast of fat bacon and corn bread could hardly be eaten. 
There was no way to wash their faces but in a brook near 
by, using handkerchiefs for towels. In the afternoon of 
that day they stopped a little time at a trading post on the 
Santa Fe road, and a pleasant house. Mrs. Jenkins pro- 
cured some medicine for her husband, and he felt some- 
what recruited after an half hour's sleep on the lounge. 
They reached Blue Jacket's, at the crossing on the Waka- 
rusa, towards night on Sunday the i8th, having been part 
of the night and nearly all the day reaching a point which 
might have easil)' been gained on the usually travelled road 
in five hours. The}' had supptr tliere. From this place 
word was sent to the camp at Franklin of the arrival of the 
posse at Blue Jacket's, and thirty nitn came down to meet 
them. The heav}- rain of the Friday preceding had com- 
pletely flooded the low grounds of the Wakarusa, and it is 
impossible to (.lescribe the ludicrous appearance of the 
newly-arrived escort, as they ploughed their way along. 



ARREST OK G. JENKINS AND G. W. BROWN. 303 

first knee-deep in water, then as deeply sinking in the 
heavy, deceitful mud. The party arrived at Franklin, and, 
as they halted before the log cabin, christened hotel, the 
gathered crowd, which the camp near by had emptied forth, 
was large and full of curiosity. Repeatedly the prisoners, 
still seated in the hack, heard their curiosity syllabled forth 
in "Which is Jenkins?" and "Is that Brown?" Their 
prying looks exceeded far the bounds of etiquette. The 
proposal was again made and urged that the ladies should 
sleep in the house; but their decisive reply, "Accommoda- 
tions which are good enough for our husbands are good 
enough for us," settled the matter, and the hack, with its 
curtains lowered, again answered for a sleeping apartment. 

The prisoners with their wives went to the house when 
breakfast was ready, with a strong guard of "guns" on all 
sides of them, themselves being the centre of a hollow 
square. A disturbance arose here among the guard, as to 
v/ho should sit at the first table. The landlady's ire was a 
little aroused, but the difficulty was settled without an ap- 
peal to arms. 

Monday morning, the igth. the cavalcade, with a large 
additional guard, making in all about one hundred men, 
started for the main camp, some twelve miles distant. 
This group of men was made up of all kinds. There were 
a few young men of education, accustomed to the refine- 
ments of life, and others brutal and ignorant. Tlieir dirty 
dress gave to them an elfish look, and many lookers-on 
declared the}- had not supposed God's beautiful earth con- 
tained such desperate, brutal-looking men. The}' were 
obliged to pass along the prairie only a mile south of Law- 
rence, and, as they approached the long, steep hill on the 
California road, a quarter of a mile beyond Mt. Oread, 
they sent scouts all over the hills. They comnienced 
whipping their horses at the base, and as Mrs. Jenkins told 
me, "they went kiting up the hill, and for nearly a mile 
after the summit had been gained." 

Many cf this posse had never been in the territory before, 



304 KANSAS. 

and, as they looked at Lawrence and its surroundings, of 
river flowing beneath the dim forests, two miles deep on 
the north bank, the beautiful uplands and emerald slopes, 
and the distant highlands surging against the azure sk}', 
like the deep blue ocean-wave, they broke forth in excla- 
mations of rapture and delight. But Lawrence, with her 
large stone buildings, and little homes, made rich in ex- 
perience of the past and hope for the future, was doomed, 
— 3'es, doomed to destruction! for the strong arm of the 
government so willed it; and the wail of its desolation has 
gone up to Heaven against its officials, who, by their base 
proclamations, had brought this infamous horde upon us. 
About two miles from Lawrence, a Mr. W., passing 
near his home, hunting for his cattle, was made to dis- 
mount by the posse and give up his horse to them. They 
reached Judge Wakefield's at two o'clock, i-. .m., and Capt. 
Donaldson, who seemed to have the command at this time, 
went into the house, then returned to the hack with a lady 
who was stopping there. She invited the ladies to remain 
with them over night, but, firm in their determination to 
stay by their husbands until forced from them, they de- 
clined the invitation, and went with the posse to the camp, 
one and a half miles distant. As the cavalcade approached 
the tents, hundreds of men, unwashed and unshorn, curs- 
ing and reeling in their inebriation, came around the car- 
riage. Dr. Stringfellow was the officer of the day of this 
"law-and-order" crowd. He ordered the prisoners to 
alight, and immediately closed the doors upon their wives. 
Their tears fell like rain, and, distinctly above the cursing, 
that "all should be served alike," "men and women should 
be strung up together," were heard their sobs, which came 
from hearts near bursting. The suspense, the untold weight 
of bitterness crowded into these moments of separation 
from their husbands, having fearful reason to suppose it 
was the last earthly parting, cannot be measured in words. 
But Stringfellow was inexorable. He said "the northern 
press would say he had taken women prisoners, and it 



ARRESr OF G. JENKINS AND G. W. BROWN. 305 

should not be said." When the hearts of some of the in- 
vaders had softened at their distress, and they promised to 
do all they could for the protection of the prisoners, Dr. 
Stringfellow said, ''Mark my words; if any resistance is 
offered at Lawrence, or any attempt made to rescue the 
prisoners, the orders are to shoot them first of all." 

Mrs. Jenkins asked him, "could she be safe in driving a 
team to Lawrence and back again, to bring some bedding 
and clean clothes for Mr. Jenkins?" Stringfellow said yes, 
but she soon learned that the span of large bay horses and 
the carriage she had already there, were "pressed" into the 
service, and could not be taken from camp. Mr. Jenkins' 
brother had been driven away at the point of the bayonet. 
She, with Mrs. Brown, then returned to Judge Wakefield's 
in the Westport hack, whose driver offered them seats. 
Taking his horses from the plough. Judge Wakefield sent 
a son to carry the ladies to Lawrence. They returned as 
quickly as possible, and, before sundown, through the wet 
grass, with clean clothing on their arms, they went to the 
camp. The carriage-bed was carried into the tent to keep 
them from the wet ground, and, with some comfortables, a 
bed was made. The ladies then returned to Judge Wake- 
field's. About two o'clock a. m., Mr. Jenkins also arrived 
there, having been released. His horses had broken from 
the camp, and, during the night. Judge Wakefield's horses 
had been stolen. Mr. Jenkins went to Lawrence on foot, 
and returned with another pair of horses for his wife. He 
recovered, on his second trip down, the bay horses. The 
fine horse first stolen he has never been able to recover, 
n<Jtwithstanding an order given him by those in authority, 
at the time it was taken. 

This was Tuesday, the 20th. Mrs. Brown went over to 
the camp early; and her husband was already on horse- 
back, surrounded by a guard of mounted men, to be taken 
to Lecompton. 

On the afternoon of the 21st, after Judge Smith and G. 
W. Deitzler had been taken to the "headquarters," our 

20 



3o6 KANSAS. 

house on Mount Oread, Mr. Jenkins was again taken pris- 
oner. He was taken from his bed, being wholly exhausted 
with his illness and fatigue, and with the rest carried to 
Lecompton. On the morning of the 22d of May they ap- 
peared before Judge Lecompte to answer to the charge of 
treason. The cases were continued until the second Mon- 
day in September. A request to be discharged on bail was 
made and denied. The crime was alleged to have been 
committed on the ist, 17th, and 21st of May. G. W. 
Brown and Mr. Jenkins proved that nearly the whole time 
they were in the hands of the mob, who held them without 
warrant or law; and a part of the time in Missouri. G. W. 
Brown had been tor weeks absent from the territory, and 
was returning to his home when arrested. Judge G. W. 
Smith had been only four days in the territory since the 
last of Januar}'. He had always recommended resistance 
to the laws through the legal tribunals. G. W. Deitzler 
also showed his position to be similar. Should bail have 
been allowed, the design for which the}' were taken priso- 
ners would have been frustrated, viz., that of leaving the 
people without some of their leading and active men, that 
more easily the whole free-state movement might be 
crushed. 

Mrs. Jenkins and Mrs. Brown went to Lecompton on the 
22d. They, with the four prisoners, had one small room 
in a frame house, the guard occupying the other room. 
Mrs. Jenkins and Mrs. Brown were allowed to take their 
meals at the public house, while those of the prisoners 
were sent to them. Thus, in a little room, in the jntense 
heat, six persons were obliged to stay, night and day. The 
threats of mobbing them were also so great that Marshal 
Donaldson slept one night in the house, and another, sat up 
on the outside. Mrs. Jenkins went to Lawrence on the 
23d, returning the next day with some articles to add to 
the comfort of the prisoners, such as bedding, luncheon, 
water-pails, wash-basins, soap, towels, etc. The few days 
they had been in Lecompton, notwithstanding their fre- 



ARREST OF G. JENKINS AND G. \V. BROWN. 307 

quent request of the marshal, they had only a two-quart 
pail for water; and, in making their toilet, they had had to 
pour water into their hands, and use handkerchiefs for 
towels. Mrs. Jenkins says, "You never saw a more pleased 
set of fellows than they were when they saw the pails, soap 
and towels." On the 26th the marshal proposed to Mrs. 
Jenkins and Mrs. Brown to board the prisoners, as the 
house they were in must be given up. They concluded to 
do it, thinking to make them more comfortable; and the 
next day, towards night, Mrs. Jenkins returned from Law- 
rence with her span of white mules, which have been in 
her service ever since, going to Lawrence tor provisions 
once or twice a week. She brought everything needed to 
commence housekeeping in a tent. The tent was already 
up; the stove soon was set; and, by all lending a helping 
hand the supper was soon prepared. To shade the table, 
poles were set, and quilts and blankets thrown over them. 
To sit down once more at a table, and eat of food cooked 
in a home-like way, brought a ray of sunshine to the pris- 
oners' hearts. 

The militar}' offic^^r in command was of strong southern 
proclivities, and, one would judge from his words and 
manner, of unpleasant nature. The prisoners were not 
allowed to see their friends. When Mrs. Brown returned, 
after an absence of a few daj's, he made loud complaints, 
saying "he wished they would either stay out or stay in." 

Mrs. Jenkins suggested the marshal's request, and that 
"if they boarded them, they must have provisions." 

He replied, in a surly, insulting way, "We can find some 
one to get provisions, and you can stay away altogether." 

A lady from Lawrence, Miss Hall, carried up the mail. 
Wliile she was allowed to see the prisoners onl}- at a dis- 
tance, the officer carefully took from the papers the New 
York Tribune, allowing the rest to go in. Upon whose 
soul rests the sin of these indignities offered to peaceable, 
honorable men, and of the sufferings caused to innocent 
Avomen? 



3o8 KANSAS. 

ARREST OF GOV. ROBINSON. 

My husband and myself left Lawrence May gth, on bis 
way to Washington, in the public hack for Kansas City. 
We reached that point about six o'clock. The Star of the 
West, Capt. Dix commanding, soon after came down the 
river; and the doctor immediately went on to the boat, 
entered his name on the clerk's book, and procured a state- 
room. We remained at the hotel over night, and took 
passage on the boat the next morning about six and a half 
o'clock. There were very few passengers; everything was 
quiet; and we were making a quick trip. In the afternoon 
we procured some books, and went into our state-room. 
From reading we soon fell asleep. At Lexmgton I was 
awakened by a noise as of many coming on to the boat, 
[t havmg subsided somewhat, I was drowsing again, when 
the captain came to our state-room door, opening upon the 
guard, with a red-faced, excitable-looking person, of short 
stature, whom he introduced to my husband as Gen. 
Shields. Whether this title of General was acquired by 
Mr. Shields' visit to the territory at the time of the "Shan- 
non War," last December, or whether it arose from the 
necessity which western men seem to feel, that of bearing 
some title, I have been quite unable to learn. That lie 
was prominent in inciting that invasion, as well as others 
in the territory, is true. Another person, of larger figure, 
and more quiet, dignified air, came soon, and was intro- 
duced as Mr. Bernard, of Westport. After stating "they 
had come upon an unpleasant errand," they proceeded to 
state its purport — that of detaining my husband in Lexing- 
ton, as he was fleeing from an indictment. He assured 
them such was not the case; that he had at all times 
been in Lawrence, or at places where he could have been 
arrested, had the authorities desired his arrest; but they 
had made no effort to serve any process upon him, and, so 
far as he knew, there was no indictment out against him. 

The two gentlemen were reinforced, as the moments 



ARRKST OF GOV. ROBINSON. 3O9 

passed, by eight or ten of the "first citizens in Lexington." 
"They had heard there was a disturbance at the wharf, and 
had come down to see the cause of it." Gen. Shields 
stated that "they had been talking to the mob fifteen 
minutes, endeavoring to persuade them to leave the boat; 
but none would be satisfied unless the governor was re- 
tained in Lexington," while others said, "Drag him out." 
His own manner was sufficient to show that, had the mob 
acted upon the advice as reported, there would have been 
at least one of "the first citizens" wofully disappointed. 
He said, moreover, "Had it not been reported that your 
lady was on board, violence would at once have been offer- 
ed; and no restraint could have been held over the crowd." 
The Yankee spirit of the lady rose at this, and a mental 
review was made upon such chivalry, such gallantry, of 
men who hesitate not to steal and invade the rights of 
others on the public thoroughfares. Such gallantry is the 
index, in all nations where k prevails, of the real want of 
morality and principle — a false glitter, where the whole 
under-current of the bod}^ politic is corrupt. The various 
propositions of my husband of sending a committee to St. 
Louis, that he might there transact as much of his busi- 
ness, which was urgent, as he could, and then return, if 
they should find, by their proposed express to Gov. Shan- 
non, there was an indictment, did not meet with favor from 
this gallant band. His request to talk to the crowd, whom 
Gen. Shields declared to be in numbers "a cabin full," and 
"infuriated by the liquors on the boat, of which they were 
drinking freely," was also refused, with a look of utter 
disdain. My husband told them "he would never think 
to escape from an indictment for a political offence, and, 
had he been doing so, of all places he would have avoided 
the Missouri river and Lexington." By way of suggestion, 
he added, "that even in such a case he saw no reason for 
another state to interfere," at which the excitable elements 
in Gen. Shields' character became yet more aroused, and 
he said, "he did not wish to get into an argument, but," 



3IO KANSAS. 

he continued, "I warn you, not as a friend, for I am not 
your friend," — (to which my husband laughingly said, "I 
do not wish any one to claim to be my friend who is not,") 
"but I warn you that this delay in consenting to leave the 
boat is only making the matter worse." 

They said the carriage was ready to take us to the town; 
that in two or three days, or perhaps by the next boat, 
they would learn if there was an indictment, and, as soon 
as the messenger to Gov. Shannon should return, if they 
did not learn sooner there was none, they would leave him 
to pursue his journey. My husband, desiring to do that 
wliich was right in the matter, although his feelings prompted 
him to forcible maintenance of his rights, let the conse- 
quences be what they might, asked me "what he should 
do." My counsels were to decline going with them. 
"They will kill you, if they take you off the boat and you 
may as well make a stand here." This was an unexpected 
phase of the matter. Gen. Shields said, with a good deal 
of surprise in his manner, "Does she say she won't go off 
the boat?" Dr. explained to him what I had said. At this 
juncture of affairs the clerk of the boat stepped into the 
state-room and, sitting down by me on the berth, advised 
me, for the sake of my husband's safety, to consent to his 
going with them. The wife of the clerk had been upon 
the boat in the morning, and I had spent a very pleasant 
hour with her on the upper deck. The gentlemen gathered 
about the door and promised to protect him from all vio- 
lence. The exact value of such pledges I was unable to 
estimate, not knowing why men who would invade all the 
rights of American citizens on the public tlioroughfares, 
would not as easily, without compunction of conscience, 
break their plighted word, if policy whispered a different 
course. My only hope at that moment was in this matter 
of policy, and I at last consented to go off the boat at 
Lexington. 

Having accepted the hospitalities of Mr. Sawyer, by far 
the most gentlemanly man present, and whose face beto- 



ARREST OF GOV. ROBINSON. 3II 

kened kindliness of heart, we made preparations to leave 
the boat, which Gen. Shields observed must be done with- 
out the knowledge of the "cabin full" of "drunken men." 
We passed out on the guard of the boat. The ruffianly 
horde were standing all around the gangways, and on the 
levee. One captain, so drunk he could not talk plain, was 
ordering his men. Another boat soon came, and the crowd 
ruslied on it to search for Gov. Reeder, who was still in 
Lawrence. At night four men stood guard near Mr. Saw- 
yer's. The next morning, having decided to continue my 
own journey, Mr. Sawyer kindly took me to the boat. 
The following day my husband went with Mr. Sawyer to 
his office, and was there introduced to several of the prin- 
cipal citizens, with whom he had familiar conversation. 
During the day, two men, known for their boasting and 
cowardice, came into Lexington from the country, and 
tried to excite the people to some violence against him. 
At last, some one, who knew them well proposed to let 
them meet him, equally well armed as themselves. This 
proposal at once produced quiet. The week passed away 
without any word being brought back from Gov. Shannon. 
Whether it required all this time to make out the necessary 
papers, after finding the indictment, we have no means of 
knowing. It was rumored that Gov. Shannon had sent a 
requisition upon the Governor of Missouri for tlie return 
of my husband to the territory. A few evenings after his 
detention at Lexington, a Dr. INIcDonald, of California, 
who tended upon him when he was shot in Sacramento, 
and who was temporarily in Lexington, called to see him. 
The people imagined he was some person from Lawrence, 
and that a rescue was in contemplation. In a very short 
time several hundred men had gathered around Mr. Saw- 
yer's house. Mr. Sawyer disliked such a state of things, 
and my husband preferred to go to the hotel; so, with a 
large guard, he went down to the hotel between eight and 
nine o'clock in the evening. The steps were full of men, 
and he passed in through them. After sitting awhile in 



312 KANSAS. 

the parlor, conversing with the landlady and other ladies, 
he was attended to his room by a guard of three men. 
After a day or two, he took his meals in the public dining- 
hall. Many of the citizens called to see him, and were 
acquainted with all the plans of the new invasion. The}' 
said, "there would be a fight." 

He told them "he did not think so: there would be no 
occasion for a fight. No one intended to resist the arrests 
of the United States Marshal." 

They said "it would make no difference whether they 
resisted the marshal or not, — they were determined to have 
a fight. They would attack and destroy Lawrence, then 
the other towns generally, and drive the free-state men 
from the territory." A few of them said, "they did not 
care for Kansas particularly, or the laws, but were deter- 
mined to get up a fight; then the North would be aroused, 
a general war ensue, and the dissolution of the Union 
would be the result." Others said, "it was to be a war of 
extermination; if the free-state men could sustain them- 
selves against the pro-slavery men, they would acquiesce 
and give it up." 

Col. Preston returned from his interview with Gov. Price 
on Sunday, the i8th. He had orders from the governor, 
to the sheriff of that county, to deliver ni}' husband into 
Col. Preston's hands. A boat being at the wharf, it was 
decided to go on board; but just as he was retiring for the 
night to his state-room, Col. Preston altered his mind, and 
they returned to the town. Col. Preston and \Vm. Don- 
aldson, with the prisoner in a carriage, left Lexington on 
the 19th, and reached Independence the same night. The 
next day they went to Westport, and remained there until 
the 22d, they declaring, without any hesitancy, that "Law- 
rence would be attacked, and they wanted him to remain in 
Westport until after it was done." On the night of the 
22d, having had the additional guard of Capt. Long's 
party of Wyandotte Indians, they arrived at Franklin. 



ARREST OF GOV. ROBINSON. 313 

They told him repeated!}' tliat in case his friends attempted 
to rescue him, they should kill him the first thing. About 
midnight, all having retired for the night, at Franklin, 
word came from Gov. Shannon, to Col. Preston, to return 
to Leavenworth by way of Kansas City, as there was dan- 
ger of a rescue; that "he should hold him responsible for 
Gov. Robinson's safety, and if any harm befell him it would 
bring on civil war." (At Leavenworth he was informed 
that Gov. Shannon feared a rescue from his own men.) 

So, the long way to Westport and Kansas Cit}', through 
the swollen creeks and deep ravines, and in the darkness 
of the night, was to be retraced. They reached Kansas 
Cit}' the next evening, having taken a longer route to avoid 
the Westport and Kansas City road. Whether this was 
done through fear of attack from the bands of South Caro- 
linia foot-pads infesting the usually traveled ways, was not 
stated. After a little rest, a boat-whistle sounded on the 
night air. The officers, with their prisoner, were again 
astir, and the morning of the 24th found them at Leaven- 
worth. The prisoner Ayas delivered into the hands of the 
deputy sheriff of Leavenworth, who appointed Capt. 
Martin, of the Kickapoo Rangers, and three others, his 
guard. On the 28th, when the general reign of terror 
commenced at Leavenworth, after the word came in of the 
awful butchery of the three men and two boys on the Pot- 
tawatomie, those who had constituted themselves a com- 
mittee of vigilance were determined to drive from the 
country ever}' free-state man, and they made many threats 
of taking my husband from the hands of his keepers, and 
hanging him. Capt. Martin, learning of this intention, and 
determined no ill should come to him while in his charge, 
sent for more of his men. The marshal and Judge Lecompte 
cams into Leavenworth in the afternoon, and the threats 
of the mob became less loud. But the most bitter feeling 
was prevalent among the pro-slaver}' men. 

Mr. Sherman, of the investigating committee, called upon 
Gov. Robinson after his arrival in Leavenworth, and, while 



314 KANSAS. 

talking with him, a pro-slavery man present interrupted 
him with, "You had better not talk so much." 

Mr. Sherman looked at him in astonishment, and the 
man continued. "G — d d — n you, I'd as soon put a bullet 
through your abolition head as not!" The fierceness of 
the man's character was prevented from further develop- 
ment by the interposition of the marshal. Judge Lecompte 
also made a formal call upon the prisoner, when he took the 
opportunity to ask of him the nature of his indictment, 
and if there were more than one against him. 

The "Little Territorial Court," the red-faced, chubby 
man, making arf effort towards dignity, replied, "There are 
two; one for usurping office, and one for high treason." 

"Does the bill for usurping office include all my connec- 
tion with the free-state movement, or is the indictment for 
treason founded upon this also!" 

Judge Lecompte replied, substantially, "The indictment 
for usurping office relates to the state movement, and the 
office you have assumed under it. You are indicted for 
treason because you have organized and counselled forces 
to act against authorities recognized and appointed under 
the Kansas-Nebraska bill. You have assisted in arming 
men, tlius resisting the movements of a legal body, and 
tlius waging war against the United States." 

"Does that relate to the occurrences in Lawrence in last 
November and December?" 

"Well, such things, of course, cannot be plainly stated; 
but that is its chief basis, I suppose." 

Let it be sounded in the ears of the American people, 
that high treason against the United States consists in 
arming oneself and friends, in defence of homes and prop- 
erty, in face of a mob, who threaten innocent men with 
death, and timid women with a fate in comparison with 
which death were infinitely preferable. 

On the first of June, my husband, under the charge of his 
guard, arrived at Lecompton, and was placed in a tent with 
the other prisoners; thus making seven persons crowded 
into one tent. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

EXCITE>[ENT IN MISSOURI OUTRAGES IN THE TERRITORY. 

It was a necessity that I should go on with the evidence 
given into my care. There was no time for, or thought of 
dalliance. Mr. Sawyer had noticed in the evening, the 
direction on my trunk was for Madison, Indiana, and I 
said, "I had expected to spend the two weeks of my hus- 
band's absence in the East with an early school friend 
there." In the night we had heard the whistle of the new 
boat at the landing; a few little cards of reference, and a 
few dispatches entrusted to the doctor's care on leaving 
Lawrence, were transferred to me before the hour came 
for that early six o'clock breakfast, and a card was written 
telling briefly how I happened to be making the long 
journey alone, and asking for kindly assistance should I 
find myself in need of help. At the table Mr. Sawyer 
mentioned the "J. M. Converse," Capt. Bowman com- 
manding, at the landing, and my husband suggested "they 
could have no wish to detain me," Mr. Sawyer replied, 'Tf 
Mrs. Robinson goes, I must get up my carriage at once." 
It seemed a very little time before I was bidding Mrs. 
Sawyer and doctor good-by, the light dancing in his eyes, 
showing more clearly than any words could the gladness of 
his heart that I could get off so easily with my precious 
package. For many a day afterward I saw the pleasant 
tableau vivant with the coral honeysuckles running all 
around the door-way, and the yards and garden full of 
lilacs, syringas, snow-balls, peonies, tulips, spiderwort. 



3:6 KANSAS. 

and daffodils, —with lilies too numerous in variety to men- 
tion. 

Capt. Bowman had heard of our detention, and he proved 
a friend. "Your trunk must go into your state-room," 
he said, "and all marks be taken off." " Had I a ribbon 
I could tie in each handle?" That was doubtful, but I 
found one. It must be rem^ibered there could be no 
through checking, but trunks had to be looked after at 
every change of cars. 

The "Converse" was a new boat, and Capt. Bowman 
had just been up to St. Joseph, Mo., with a party of friends 
from Pittsburg, Pa. When he returned from Pittsburg, 
and had made his second return from St. Joseph to St. 
Louis, 1 was there to come up the river with him. His 
words of greeting were, "Well, you are back again. Go 
into your state-room and have a rest. Then I will send 
out for your friends. The boat does not go out until to- 
morrow." 

I had concluded to leave the "testimony" with Gov. 
Chase of Ohio. I could not find him, or Mr. Joliffe, his 
partner, at Cincinnati. I was sorry for the delay, but 
happy before noon the next day to find him at the Neil 
House in Columbus. Mr. Walton, an M. C. was at 
home for a day or two from Washington, and I delivered 
my heavy package to him. Then I was at liberty to go 
on to do the work I had to do in Boston, to see Mr. Law- 
rence, Dr. Cabot and others who were never unmindful of 
our needs in Kansas. Gov. Chase had introduced me to 
a gentleman going to his home in Lowell. I saw no more 
of him until we had taken our supper at the Massasoit in 
Springfield. Then he spoke to me: "These five ladies, 
who have been your companions by the way, are going to 
stop here until Monday, as the train will not arrive in 
Boston until after midnight; will you stop with them?" 
"No, I must go on to-night." "Then I will sit with you, 
and get you a carriage for the Marlboro when we arrive." 
I thanked him in my heart, if I did not with many words, and 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 317 

especially for his kindness in seeing me safe in the 
"Marlboro hack," at one o'clock at night, — just one week 
from the morning I had bade my husband good-by, look- 
ing out so satisfied from that bower of honeysuckles. 
Tuesday, I went up into Hampshire county to see my 
mother and brother and sister for a day. Thursday I 
went to New York to meet Judge J. S. Emery at the 
Howard House, who would accompany me back to Kan- 
sas. I arrived at Kansas City on the night of June 3d, at 
twelve o'clock, after my eastern fiying trip and in hope soon 
to join my husband. 

I had reached Chicago, on the homeward journey, when 
the first uncertain news of the sacking of Lawrence came. 
There were a few rumors at Detroit. A few hours delay, 
in order to gain more certain intelligence, followed, and 
Mr. Grover's unexpected arrival from the ill-fated town, 
gave to the wearing suspense of uncertainties the vivid- 
ness, and sadne?s of reality. He was doubtful as to the 
fate of any prisoners in their hands, yet for them he feared 
the worst. Still hoping all thing good, however, with the 
habitual buoyanc}' of my character unsubdued, I pursued 
my journey, receiving from strangers in Illinois many 
tangible proofs of their sympathy for Kansas, and for those 
battling in the cause. I attended the great Republican 
convention at Bloomington, Illinois, where Lincoln, Love- 
joy, Medill, Browning, Arnold and Dr. Ray were conspic- 
uous in their efforts for Free Kansas. Gov. Reeder's 
arrival that morning, looking very wan and thin after his 
two weeks imprisonment at the American House in Kansas 
City, — ■sometimes almost hopeless as to his escape from 
slavery's minions, afforded intense excitement to the wait- 
ing crowds. 

Friends had counselled my return to Chicago, but Gov. 
Reeder, and Dr. Ray said to me most earnestly, "Make no 
delay. Go to Kansas at once. It is for your husband's 
safety that you should be there." 

The last day or two of the trip on the Missouri river 



3l8 KANSAS. 

rumors of war became more frequent. Inflammatory ex- 
tras were thrown upon the boats at different landings. 
People at Lexington, and other points along the river, 
were much excited, and preparing for a new invasion. The 
extras stated the murder of eight pro-slavery men, by the 
abolitionists, and the cruel mutilation of their bodies; the 
death of the United States Marshal, of H. C. Pate, and J. 
McGee. Deeds of blood and violence, of which they were 
hourly guilt}', were charged upon the free-state men. The 
following is a sample of the incendiary extras which flew 
through the border counties: "Murder is the watchword 
and midnight deed of a scattered and scouting band of ab- 
olitionists, who had courage only to tiy from the face of a 
wronged and insulted people, when met at their own solic- 
itation. Men, peaceable and quiet, cannot travel on the 
public roads of Kansas, without being caught, searched, 
imprisoned, and their lives, perhaps, taken. No Southerner 
dare venture alone and unarmed on her roads!" Such 
were the false statements made to arouse the passions of 
the border men. 

A short colloquy on the boat between one of the surve}'- 
ors in the employ of Gen. Calhoun, and others, will show 
the bitterness of their feelings. As the boat left Lexington 
he came into the ladies' cabin, and said to his wife, the 
daughter of a Wyandotte, that "Donaldson was killed." 

I said to him, "Will you tell me what Donaldson it is?" 

"John Donaldson," was his curt reply. 

Not knowing their Christian names, I asked, "Is it the 
United States Marshal?" 

He then said, showing a very evident desire to make no 
explanations, "He was auditor:" and his wife, showing 
more animation than from her listless manner one would 
have supposed possible, added, "He was a very tine man." 

To my question, "Were there others injured?" the sur- 
veyor said, "Yes, the abolitionists have killed several other 
persons." 

This seemed to me a doubtful story, and I so stated my 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 3ig 

belief, adding, that "such stories were put in circulation 
for the purpose of exciting another invasion." Reliable 
persons had informed me that the sacking of Lawrence 
without resistance to the "regularly organized militia," was 
regarded b}' them as signal a defeat as the December inva- 
sion; the invaders having made preparations for a siege, 
and the want of defence on the part of Lawrence had again 
foiled their plans. These reports of outrages committed 
by the free-state party seemed but another scheme to bring 
about civil war. 

The Wyandotte lady, with great bitterness, replied, 
"These stories come from the right side to be true!" 

As I was revolving in my mind with what simplicity she 
had revealed her proclivities, a gentleman sitting by said 
to the surveyor, "Are these Buford men enlisted in the 
territorial militia?" 

With some hesitancy, yet a half leer of satisfaction 
spreading itself over his broad, bloated face, he replied, 
"They are residents of the territory." I suggested their 
residence was of short duration, when the lad}', who was 
"R. G. Q-," said, "These men and the Missourians went 
into the territory to make homes, while the eastern people 
went there to vote, and then returned." 

Such astounding developments, coupled with the state- 
ment that had fallen from her lips the same morning, "that 
her husband was the handsomest man on the boat, and 
because of his beaut}' she married him," seemed to me all 
I had better try to believe at once. So I retired to mj' old 
seat to ruminate upon wars in Kansas, and the blessings 
resulting to mankind in general from a large diversity of 
tastes and dispositions. 

There were several pro-slavery families on board, very 
pleasant people. There was a lovely girl going to her 
home, in Missouri, from a boarding-school in Illinoit. 
There was a young lady from Kentucky, of intelligence and 
refinement, pro-slavery, yet with her I had manv pleasant 
talks. A Missourian returning to Missouri with a Texan 



320 



KANSAS. 



bride, delicate and pale as the light gossamer robes in 
which she floated, was very affable and intelligent. The 
young Shawnee girl, with her white husband, on her bridal 
tour, was educated, and pleasant, and from all, with the 
exception named, I received the common courtesies of life. 
This Wyandotte lady also stated, with great satisfaction 
of manner, that "Gov. Robinson would be hung;" and was 
not a little displeased that her listeners doubted the state- 
ment. 

On arriving at Kansas City we found the stage would go 
to Westport early in the morning. There were four of us 
to go, and we would attempt the passage together, not- 
withstanding bands of armed men were infesting the high- 
ways. Arrangements were made, and I slept a few hours. 
As I sat with bonnet and shawl on, the next morning, 
watching the stage, I saw it leave the door without passen- 
gers, and the clerk of the house following after. He asked 
the driver, "Why he left his passengers? Would he re- 
turn? Would he wait for them to come where the coach 
then was?" To all of his (]uestions he received sullen, in- 
definite replies. Mr. Clapp, knowing our anxiety to get 
into the territory, coaxed and threatened. But it all proved 
useless. He would not carry us to Westport, where we 
could meet the stage for Lawrence, and no carriage could 
go from the hotel, because horses werfe continually taken 
from wagons, carriages, or riders, and pressed into the 
service of "law and order." So, until the day after the 
next, as the stage went out only three days in the week, 
returning on the alternate days, we would be obliged to 
remain. This would have been unendurable had not the 
hotel still been in the possession of Massachusetts gentle- 
men. Five Massachusetts families were still in the house, 
also Mr. Coates, of Philadelphia, who had sometimes made 
a home with us, had just returned with his wife from the 
Quaker city. 

The threats of destroying this hotel were still frequent, 
and nightly the danger of attack was imminent. The mayor 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 32 1 

of the city liad kept out a guard one or two nights. But 
he had declined doing this longer, and, a meeting of the 
citizens being called, it was decided to ask the "Eldridges" 
to sell the hotel, to save it from the fury of South Carolin- 
ians and border men; they expressed to them at the same 
time their regret that such was the excitement against it. 

Again and again the mob had assembled, and with 
groans, whose hideousness no one can appreciate who was 
not forced to listen, and with yells, declared the house 
should come down. The "Eldridges" proposed their 
terms, which were accepted, and, on the morning of the 
tenth, the hotel passed into the keeping of two pro-slavery 
men. Little curly, woolly heads, sitting in the doorways, 
proclaimed also the house was under a new rule. One, 
with skin slightly colored, and fiery red hair, looked oddly, 
and bore a marked resemblance to the little boy of his own 
size, whose attendant he seemed to be. 

On the second of June a battle was fought near Prairie 
City. For several days, a portion of the posse, Buford men 
and Carolinians, together with Missourians, had been com- 
mitting depredations upon the settlers, taking several of 
them prisoners. Capt. Brown, on hearing of the outrages, 
called his company together, and started on the eve of Sun- 
day, traveling all night. At daylight, Capt. Brown made 
the attack upon Pate and his company, who were arranged 
behind their wagons. Pate also placed the unarmed pris- 
oners, whom he had taken, in front of them, as a shield. 
The forces were not far from equal, Pate's party numbering 
a few more than the other. After a two hours' fire, Pate 
sent forward one of his men, with a prisoner, and a white 
flag, and surrendered unconditionally. A few of Pate's 
company fled to Missouri. Among them was Coleman, the 
murderer; twenty-six men were taken prisoners by Capt. 
Brown. A quantity of goods, stolen from Lawrence, was 
found in their wagons. A day or two after this, bands of 
South Carolinians were threading their way towards Bull 
Creek, and men from Independence, Lexington, West- 

21 



322 KANSAS. 

port and Cla}- count}', generally, were fast going up the 
Santa Fe road to join the same bands. One hundred and 
eight}' men, who had been camped near Bull Creek, went 
nearer Palmyra, and camped back of the town, in a ravine. 
About one hundred free-state men were in camp about two 
miles beyond. From near Hickory Point and Lawrence 
one hundred men were marching to reinforce those last 
named. Whitfield left his seat before the investigating com- 
mittee, June 2d, at the head of a large body of armed men, 
to conquer, I suppose, his constituents in the territory, his 
stated object to relieve H. C. Pate. While Gov. Shannon, 
in every instance, has stationed troops in a town after it 
has been sacked, he now saw the free-state men rallying to 
protect themselves, and feared the slave power would lose 
the ground gained through his servility. He heard, too, 
of aid coming from out of Kansas, and issued a proclama- 
tion on the fourth, "commanding all persons belonging to 
military companies unauthorized by law to disperse, other- 
wise they would be dispersed by the United States troops." 
It required all civil officers of the government to be watch- 
ful in enforcing the laws, and protecting the property and 
persons of all law-abiding citizens. All aggressive parties 
outside the territory will be repulsed. The President's 
proclamation of February nth was appended, and Gov. 
Shannon stated that it would be strictly enforced. A 
requisition was also made upon Col. Sumner for a force 
sufftcient to compel obedience to the proclamation. 

On the fifth, Col. Sumner broke in upon the free-state 
camp, and released Capt. Pate and fellow-prisoners. Col. 
Sumner ordered the free-state men to return quietly to 
their homes, and then, turning to Pate, said, "What busi- 
ness have you here?" 

"I am here by orders of Gov. Sliannon." 

"I saw Gov. Shannon yesterda}', and }'Our case was 
specially considered, and he asserted you were not here by 
his orders." He then added, "You are Missourians, all of 
you, and when }'ou cross your state line, you trample on 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 323 

State sovereignty. Now, go, sir, in the direction from 
whence j'ou came;" and as lie closed his remarks, Col. 
Sumner waved his hand for Pate and his part}' to leave. 
So the brave H. C Pate returned to Westpott and Kansas 
City. He acknowledged the bravery of Capt. Brown, for 
he said Capt. Brown rode about them sword in hand, and 
commanded a surrender, and they were obliged to make it. 
He spoke well of them in their treatment of him while a 
prisoner, but with Col. Sumner's treating him with so little 
deference he felt quite outraged, and talked of a challenge. 

The pro-slaver}' camp was also visited by Col. Sumner, 
and ordered to leave the territory. A part did so; but 
another part of Whitfield's forces went towards Osawato- 
mie. On the sixth at four o'clock in the afternoon, one 
hundred and fifty of them, fully armed and much intoxi- 
cated, entered Osawatomie, and commenced their work of 
house-breaking, burning and pillage. They sacked the 
town, taking everything of value, — money, provisions, 
clothing, and jewelry. Sixteen horses were taken, while 
the owners looked on. Among them were two from the 
United States mail coach, running between Fort Scott and 
Westport. 

On the eighth, Capt. Brown's company having been dis- 
banded at Palmyra, was disarmed. Hearing of the sack 
of Lawrence, they had again organized, and were deliber- 
ating how best to protect themselves, and neighbors, when 
the troops, who should have protected Osawatomie, came 
upon them, and took their arms. Word had been sent, 
previous to the attack, to some of the free-state camps, 
and messengers were immediately sent to the nearest camp 
of the dragoons, asking for protection for Osawatomie. 
The messenger stated that the free-state men had been 
disbanded with the promise of protection. Now, Osawat- 
omie was calling to them for aid, and unless they would 
march to their relief, the free-state men would rally, and 
at once go to their assistance. 

Lieut. Mcintosh said he had heard rumors of an attack, 



324 



KANSAS. 



similar to those brought by the messengers, and that he 
had sent an express in the morning to the camps near 
Osawatomie, informing them of the contemplated attack. 
The messenger stated that unless they could carry back 
word that something definite would be done, for the pro- 
tection of Osawatomie, they would immediately march to 
that place. The lieutenant then stated that everything 
that could be done, would be; that he would himself start 
for the camp below. While he was preparing to leave, he 
accused the free-state people of being unwilling to obey 
the Draconian laws of the territory. He was on his way 
toward Osawatomie. 

The free-state men, thinking their friends would be pro- 
tected, returned to their homes, leaving the field to the 
dragoons. The next night brought the intelligence of the 
sack of Osawatomie. The troops could not save Lawrence, 
because Col. Sumner had no orders to act. They did no^ 
save Osawatomie. Neither did they protect Leavenworth, 
only three miles from the fort, during its reign of terror. 
While the free-state men showed a disposition to protect 
themselves, they were not allowed to do it; yet robberies 
and murders were repeated every da}', in the early part of 
June. Every evening's intelligence was of some fresh 
outrage. 

On the evening of the fourth, Mr. Coates, counsel for the 
prisoners, with his wife, returned from Lecompton. Judge 
Conway was also with them, having gone as a witness in the 
case. At Lecompton both of them were ordered from the 
town by a bully from Leavenworth, by the name of Kelly. 
He ordered Judge Conwa}' to leave, and when he applied 
to Gov. Shannon for protection, the reply of the governor 
of the territory was, "Your people are shooting down 
our people, and I can give j'ou no protection." The 
meaning of this is, the free-state people are shooting down 
the pro-slavery, which was false in reality, and which still 
further proved the partisan character of the government. 
After ordering Judge Conway to leave, he met Mr. Coates, 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 325 

as he was returning from the clerk's office (where he was 
having some papers necessary in my husband's case made 
out) to Shannon's office. 

The following dialogue took place: 

Ruffian, in a rough manner, — "You are ordered to leave 
Lecompton." 

Mr. Coates, in a very composed manner, asked, "Do you 
order me to leave upon your own responsibilit}', or at the 
suggestion of others?" 

'T tell you you are ordered to leave Lecompton." 

"Yes, but such proceedings are not usuall}' executed so 
summarily, and it would gratify me to know who takes the 
responsibility of ordering me from Lecompton." 

"I take the responsibility; so do others. I tell you to 
leave." 

"Well, what may your name be?" 

The ruffian demurred at giving his name; but, as Mr. 
Coates assured him that, in all civilized countries, the 
accused were allowed to know the names of their accusers, 
he said, "You know me. You saw me at Leavenworth at 
the first election. " 

"I do not recollect having had the honor of your ac- 
quaintance; but of course you are an honorable man, and 
are not ashamed of your name." 

"Well, my name is Kelly; and you are ordered to leave 
Lecompton." 

Mr. Coates retained his seat, while Mr. Kelly, like a 
witness on the stand, was standing before him, and the 
highly honorable governor was sitting b}'. 

"In all courts of justice it is customary for the accused 
to make a defence before judgment is pronounced, and it 
would please me to know of what I am accused." 

After refusing, for a time, to make any charges, Mr. 
Kelly said, "You have written articles for the Herald of 
Freedom. " 

"That is a misstatement. What other charges have you?" 



326 KANSAS. 

"You have been connected with the free-state move- 
ment." 

"You are so honorable a man, you will, of course, allow 
me to bring witnesses to prove this charge untrue." 

"Well, you are known to be an intimate friend of Gov. 
Reeder and Gov. Robinson. 

Mr. Coates, rising, said, "That is sufficient;" and, turn- 
ing to Gov. Shannon, asked, as counsel for Gov. Robinson, 
having come there expecting an examination in his case, 
if he had no protection to offer him. The governor signi- 
fied he had none. Then i\Ir. Coates, gathering up his 
papers in a dignified manner, bade him "good-afternoon," 
and walked out of the house. The governor seemed to 
have a sudden thought. He stepped out after him, and 
spoke to some of the ruffians a moment, when one of them 
told Mr. Coates "he could stay in Lecompton as long as 
he wanted to." 

Judge Conway, with the wife of the counsel, rode out 
of town a short distance to wait for her husband. They 
were stopped b}' three men, armed with U. S. muskets, as 
they approached Westport, on their way back to Kansas 
City. The question whether they were armed was asked 
by one of the foot-pads; to which Mrs. Coates replied, 
"No, sir." They were then allowed to pass. Westport 
was full of armed men, and a large company were drilling in 
front of Milton McGee's, two miles from Kansas City; but 
for some reason, they were allowed to pass unmolested. 

The next morning, June 4th, Judge Conway was sitting 
in the parlor at the American House, relating to three or 
four of us ladies his adventures of the three last weeks, his 
detention at Parkville by a mob, his arrest at Leavenworth 
by a gang of self-constituted authorities, and his being 
driven from Lecompton by an Irish bully, the governor 
acquiescing. We were all laugliing merrily at the pictures 
he drew of his forlorn condition, being marched about at the 
point of the bayonet, and assuring us, in his own peculiar 
way, that it "did confuse a fellow's ideas somewhat when 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 327 

he expected a punch from the bayonets every moment." 
But, at this instant, a rough, burly fellow, red-faced, and 
with hair of yet more fiery color, came through the reading- 
room into the parlor. He came a little way towards Judge 
Conway, and called him to him. He then asked, "Is your 
name Conway?" 

"It is, sir." 

"You are my prisoner." 

"By what authority?" said Judge Conway. 

The only reply was a rough grasp of the shoulder and 
wrist of Judge Conwa}', with the words, "Come along," as 
he rudely drew him into the reading-room. Mrs. Coates, 
the Philadelphia lady, and a brave Massachusetts woman 
in the house, Mrs. Wilcox, were close to Judge Conway's 
side. The rude law-and-order man stated that Jones had 
just been shot, and was dead, and that Judge Conway was 
the murderer. 

Mrs. Coates said, "Judge Conwa}' is a friend of ours, 
and he is an innocent man." 

Some men of Kansas City, at work on the levee, in front 
of the hotel, had gathered near. The official appealed to 
them for help; but not a hand was raised to aid him, while 
he declared "he would not give a 'fip' for such a town as 
that." Seeing how matters stood, that he was to get no 
help, he said, "he was mistaken in the man," and spoke of 
two other free-state men as implicated in the pretended 
assassination of the day before, who had been in the states 
since January, and were not yet in the territory. 

He then said, "Were you not driven out of Leaven- 
worth?" 

"I was told to go, sir." 

To Judge Conway's explanation that he was now on his 
way to Baltimore, his home, the burly fellow said "it was 
also his home." 

"What may your name be? perhaps I may know you," 
said the judge. 



328 KANSAS. 

"My name is Hughes." Tlien Mr. Hughes made his 
parting address; "Well, Conwa}', you go to your home, 
and do as man ought to do to man." 

"I will, sir." 

"Don't tell any of your infernal lies when you get to 
Baltimore." 

"I shall tell no lies, sir." 

The truth in his case, he doubtless thought, as we did, 
would be all-sufficient to rouse the feelings of American 
citizens against the outrages committed here at slaver_v's 
bidding. A gentleman from Lawrence, whom Brewerton 
pointed out as having shot at a Mr. Cox, in the melee 
passed directly through the crowd from the office, to a 
safer place. Another, Mr. Shimmons, from St. Louis, was 
introduced to the same Hughes, by a bystander, as a 
"shipper of Sharpe's rifles." The law-and-order man di- 
lated his e3'es, and asked the gentleman if that was his 
business. He replied, "he was a commission merchant, 
and whatever boxes came, shipped to his care, he sent 
forward." "Did he not know he had no right to send rifles 
to Kansas?" "I have lived several years in St. Louis, and 
have never broken any law of the state" To such indig- 
nities and questionings have gentlemen been obliged to 
submit at the hands of men who have been convicts for 
years in the penitentiar3^ It was amusing to see the 
indignation of the last gentleman, at such an examination, 
not having been through so thorough a process of breaking- 
in as Judge Conway. Every day only added to the enor- 
mity of the pro-slavery part3^ 

A Mr. Cantrell, recently from Missouri, but a free-state 
man, was taken prisoner on the evening of the 5th of June, 
by one of Gen. Whitfield's scouting parties. On the next 
day he was carried down the Santa Fe road. At Cedar Creek 
he was taken out into a ravine by two men. Then there v/as 
a shot;— then the cry, "O, God, I am shot! — I am mur- 
dered!" Then another shot, and a long, piercing scream; 
another shot, and all was still. 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 329 

A Mr. Bailey narrowly escaped a violent death, and 
through many sufferings at last reached his friends. He 
had started from his home to get a load of provisions for 
himself and his neighbors. When near Bull Creek, Cole- 
man, who had twenty men encamped close by, came and 
ordered him to stop there over night. Among these twenty 
men were Buckley and Hargous, his accomplices in the 
murder of Dow. In the morning his horses were missing, 
their halters having been cut. The men expressed s^-m- 
pathy for his loss, and told him the horses could be found 
in the camp at Cedar Creek, and they proposed to go with 
him to find them. Before reaching Cedar Creek they met 
a compan}' of two hundred men. A consultation was held 
with them, and Coleman said, "There may be treachery 
used." 

Soon after the company had passed on, three men took 
Mr. Bailey into the prairie about one hundred yards from 
the road, and demanded his money; without hesitation, or 
one word of objection, he gave them forty-five dollars, all 
he had. One of the men then raised his gun as though he 
would fire. Mr. Bailey said, "If you mean to kill me, you 
will kill a better man than 3'ourself;" to which the ruffian, 
lowering his gun replied, "I wish you to take off those 
pantaloons; perhaps they will get bloody." But Mr. 
Bailey said, "They are mine as long as I live." 

This tool of the administration, armed with a U. S. mus- 
ket, again raised his gun and fired. The ball struck Mr. 
Bailey in the side, glancing along the ribs, and -dodged in 
the back. Mr. Bailey fell, and was struck at again and 
again with the musket. Then two of the men?disappeared, 
and left this more than demon to finish the work of ^killing 
a peaceable man. He jumped on the body of -the pros- 
trate man, stamping on his face and head. But as Mr. 
Bailey caught hold of the musket, and was able toehold on 
upon it, the murderer ran after the others, calling upon 
them to return. They, however, were too far awa5\ [: After 
lying in the grass three hours, Mr. Bailey attempted to 



330 KANSAS. 

find his way home. In doing so, he passed near their 
camp the next morning at daybreak, and for a while lay 
hid in the grass, to learn their movements. While there, 
he heard a cry, "Are you going to hang me?" and no reply, 
save the ringing of a bell. In about five minutes, he heard 
a shot, then a whistle, and six other shots at intervals of 
five minutes. He lay in the woods all that day, and at 
night crawled along about two miles; was hid near the 
Wakarusa all the next day; saw a wagon stopped by live 
men; heard angry words, and a shot fired. In the night, 
worn down by his sufferings from the wound and bruises, 
having had nothing to eat for three days, and nothing to 
drink but stagnant water, he reached the house of Dr. Still, 
at Blue Mound. 

A young man, by the name of Hill, was going to Mis- 
souri, also for provisions, and as night came, he asked 
two men on the road where he could find water for his 
horses. They said they would show him, if he would go 
with them. When he had gone with them to the ravine, 
where they said they would find water, they searched 
him, took what he had of money, and threatened to 
kill him. He told them he had a mother, and younger 
brothers and sisters, dependent on him; that day after 
day they, as she looked out for his coming, and night 
only brought a renewal of the sad suspense as to his 
fate, in sorrow she would go to the grave; but there was 
no pity in their hearts, no mercy. They tied the young 
man's arms beliind him, and, bending his feet backwards, 
tied them also to his arms, then put a stick an inch and a 
half in width in his mouth, prying it open, and tied the 
string back of his head. Then, more barbarous than the 
New Zealanders, they cut places in his hat, and tied that 
also over his face, and laid his face downwards on tlie 
stones. They went away leaving him to die. 

After a time they came back; and, as one placed his 
pistol directly over his eye, he feeling its pressure through 
the hat, the other said, "Don't shoot him; he will not go 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 331 

any turther on his journey to-night." They left again 
to report at the camp, probably, another victim to the vile 
tools of slavery propagandism. 

When this young man found himself again alone, and 
tliought they would not return, he commenced making an 
effort to extricate himself from his painful position. By 
working his boot on the sharp stones, he found the rope 
loose enough for him to draw his foot out. His feet were 
thus left at liberty, while one boot was swinging on his 
back. By working his hat between his knees, he was able 
to pull it off his face. Then with the strip of board still 
lacerating his mouth, and his hands fastened with strong 
cords behind him, he set out to find some house in the 
darkness of the night. 

He had come from Iowa in the spring, and was but little 
acquainted with the country. After traveling eleven miles, 
he knew b}' the barking of the dogs, he was near a house, but 
was unable to get over the fence. The strange cries he 
made at last attracted the attention of the family, but, 
supposing him to be a drunken Indian, they did not at 
first come to his aid. He was, however, cared for by 
them. Elliot, who with Titus pledged five hundred dollars 
for the head of Capt. Walker, when the U. S. Alarshal, 
with his usual servility, offered to send a posse for him, 
was one of the actors in this savage transaction. Other 
men were continually shot and robbed. 

A man, who had a pass from U. S. Marshal Donaldson, 
with a load of freight, was returning to his home in the 
territory. The same evening of the day he left, he return- 
ed, robbed of his money, wagon and oxen, and saved his 
life only by a promise to leave the territory. The men 
who attacked him were encamped about two miles from 
Westport, armed, as all their men are, with U. S. rifles 
and side arms. 

The questions asked of him were, "Where do you live? 
Where are you from? What are your politics ? How 
much money did that d — d Emigrant Aid Society give you 



332 KANSAS. 

to come out here? What the h — 1 did you come out here 
for? Did you come to make Kansas a free state? Why 
didn't you go to Nebraska? That's a good country, and 
you d — d Yankees may have it; but Kansas you'll have to 
fight for, and we'll whip h— 1 out of you, but we'll get it, 
Union or no Union! That's a game that must win. I am 
thinking." The question was finally asked, "If we let you 
go, will you take a gun and march with the pro-slavery 
party?" 

'^N'ever."' was the invariable reply. In an instant, the 
cry resounded through the camp, "The ropes, boys, the 
ropesi" 

It was thrown over his head, and he was dragged to the 
nearest tree, exclaiming "You do not intend to kill me in 
this manner, do you?" 

The reply was, "Yes, G — d d — n your abolition heart, 
and all like you!" 

He asked, if he was thus to be sacrificed, for time to 
collect his thoughts, and arrange his worldly affairs The 
fiends told him he could have ten minutes to make any 
disposal of his propert}-, and his peace with God. He 
then gave a list of his effects to one of the captains, asking 
him to send it east to his friends; and, at the expiration of 
the ten minutes, the rope was thrown over a limb, and they 
jerked him from the ground. After being let down, he was 
asked, "Will you leave the territory, if we'll spare your 
life?" 

The prisoner objected, stating he had broken no law, 
and infringed upon no man's rights. The leader, who had 
ordered him let down when hanging, again interposed, 
saying, he must make this promise, or lose his life. He 
told the men that this gentleman had a "right to be a free- 
state man, though no right to hold such views in Kansas; 
that lie was guilty of no crime." With a guard he was 
sent back to Kansas City. 

Others, going out with loaded teams, soon returned, 
having gone through the same operation of questioning and 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 333 

hanging. In one instance, as one was released, and left 
the camp, he heard the screams of another man in the 
camp across the road. Mr. Upton, the sergeant-at-arms of 
the investigating committee, was also threatened with 
hanging, but he was very firm in his expressed opinions 
that they wouldn't do it. When at last he told them who 
he was, they looked frightened, and were glad to be rid of 
him. 

A young man and his wife, formerly from Iowa, came to 
Kansas City. They were fearful, and dared not stay longer 
in the territory. Nine yoke of cattle, which he was going 
to take into Iowa to sell, were taken from him by a ruf- 
fianly band just as he approached Kansas City. Some 
gentlemen stopping at Kansas City, who had lost teams 
on their way down, were anxious to get back into the 
territory. They started one day, but returned ere its close. 
They thought, by going on foot, and keeping off of the 
traveled roads, the}' should be able to get through without 
molestation; but, when about twelve miles out, they fell 
into the enemy's hands. They were reTeased after a time, 
and advised to return to Kansas City, "as they would meet 
other bands, where the}' might fare worse." 

A clergyman, from Vermont, whom I met on my tour 
East, and who spoke to me then of visiting the territory, to 
look after an insane brother, reached Kansas City on his 
return, having been "in perils many and oft." At Westport, 
he stated himself a clergyman, his object in visiting the 
territory, and tried to hire a horse of Mr. Harris, of the 
Harris House. There seemed to be objections, but the 
matter was at last arranged. A man proposed to go with 
him, who also had a sick brother. Coleman stood near 
them as the arrangements were made. As Rev. Mr. Web- 
ster and the other man were traveling along, he noticed 
another man keeping always the same distance in the rear. 
A few miles out of Westport, the man proposed watering 
the horses; and, as Mr. Webster dismounted, he was in- 
formed by the other man, "that he was taken out here for 



334 KANSAS. 

the purpose of an examination, to see whether the stories 
he told were true." The papers he found on the minister 
corroborated his statements, and satisfied the man. Tlie 
one following had also arrived there, and entered into the 
examination. Mr. Webster was then informed that if he 
went on to Prairie Cit}', he must do so on foot, as he had 
orders to take the horse back to Westport. j\lr. Webster 
was unable to walk so far, and concluded to go back and 
make another trial. On retracing his steps, he was taken 
into a camp of the highwaymen, and marched about at the 
option of the vile men. He was surprised to find there, 
also in bonds, two Virginians who had made the passage 
of the Missouri at the same time with himself. They had 
promised to travel with him, to be a mutual protection, but 
by some means they had lost sight of each other. And 
they, not willing to go all lengths of robbing and shooting, 
in their defence of slavery, had fallen under the surveil- 
lance of these brutes in form of men. 

Reports of five men hanging on the trees between West- 
port and Palmyra' came in at Kansas City. One of the 
pro-slavery proprietors of the house had his information so 
direct that he said "he had no doubt it was true." 

Some free-state families were leaving, but they were 
mostly those who had but recently come into the territory, 
and had not established themselves, and become a part of 
the great question of slavery and freedom. Timid men 
turned back when their feet had hardly pressed the rich 
soil of Kansas; but the old settlers, undaunted by past 
disasters and present confusion, stood firmly upon their 
rights. Having put their "hands to the plough, they would 
not look back." In some regions, where husbands and 
brothers were in arms to protect some other settlement, or 
to drive out marauders, delicately reared and intelligent 
New England women were bus}' in the fields. Their horses 
and oxen stolen, they were at work earnestl}- to get in the 
crops. Two beautiful and accomplished girls, thus at 
work, said to a friend of mine, "Those who would think 



EXCITEMENT IN MISSOURI, ETC. 335 

less of US for working in the field, may say what they 
please; we do not value their opinions." 

Forbearance has been the motto of our people. No 
means have been left untried to arouse them against na- 
tional authority, but, with the trusting, peace-loving spirit, 
which has no parallel in history, they have cherished a 
faitli, in the final righting of their wrongs, which indeed 
"hopeth all things and endureth all things." None but the 
intelligent, strong-hearted class of people, who have passed 
into Kansas, could have reached such an acme of endur- 
ance. Now another desperate effort is put forth to possess 
the land. Attempts are made unceasingly to drive off the 
timid, to harass the settlers generally, by placing the love 
of life in the scales with a love of freedom; by keeping in 
prison the leading men, and by preventing the incoming 
of new free-state settlers by ever}' possible means. 



CHAPTER XX. 

TWO WEEKS IX JUNE ON THE MISSOURI BORDER, 

Every succeeding day's fresh enormities clearly show the 
base intention of the pro-slavery men. Major Richardson, 
Buford, Donaldson, and others, who are foremost in this 
cruel war upon the free-state men, often dined at the hotel 
in Kansas City. The threats of Buford's men against him 
were neither few nor mild. Many of them, without hesita- 
tion, said "they would shoot him the first chance they could 
get," and he at last went down the river. His men came 
in, every day, worn out and sick. A free-state man, pity- 
ing the utter wretchedness of one of them, took care of him 
a few days, and sent him down the river. I saw him fre- 
quently carrying some little nourishment from the hotel to 
the store where the sick man was. A gentleman in from 
Chicago reported help near. He brought letters from well- 
known friends of Kansas. The rumor spread abroad. Its 
soothing effect upon the overwrought passions of the border 
men could not escape notice. Their anxiety in the matter 
was intense. One of them, Spaulding, a native of Burling- 
ton, Vt. , of fine family, but who has been connected with a 
rabid pro-slavery paper here, though now apparently lean- 
ing to the other side of the question, had his seat next me 
at the table. This gentleman said to me, "It is said two 
thousand men are coming from Chicago; but I think the 
trouble is confined here; it reaches but a little distance.'' 
The reply made was, "You cannot have been East lately, 
for there is intense feeling throughout the North, and they 
will not be backward in sending many times that number, 



TWO WEEKS IN JUNE ON THE MISSOURI BORDER. 337 

if emergencies require it." A report of five hundred men 
coming from Wisconsin also had a wonderfully subduing 
effect upon the Leavenworth law-and-order men, and soon 
after Col. Sumner disbanded their Vigilance Committee. 
For many days the ferry-boat had been plying busily back- 
wards and forth across the river, bringing over the Clay 
county boys. As they landed but a few rods below the 
house, and I saw their besotted, rough, unintelligent faces, 
I wondered less at the barbarities we heard daily. The 
intellectual was blotted out, the animal, the sensual part of 
human nature alone remaining, rendering them fit instru- 
ments, in the hands of a corrupt administration, in aiding 
and abetting the interests of the slave power. They came 
back in two days, and went on the boat quietly, no yells re- 
sounding through the grand old woods on the further shore, 
as when they came over. Col. Sumner had at last driven 
them out. There were Wyandottes returning drunk, who 
yelled in front of the hotel, and brandished their pistols, 
daring one another to fight. One of my husband's guard 
at Westport was at the hotel, and desired to see me. He 
seemed to be a man of kind heart, and evidently thought 
he was conferring a favor by telling me how much "the 
guard thought of Gov. Robinson; that he was a gentleman, 
and they treated him as such; that Capt. Martin was very 
much attached to him, and declared no injury should come 
to the governor in which he did not share." As we were 
talking familiarly, I asked him "how it happened that Gov. 
Shannon was so long in sending for my husband." He 
said, "I suppose they had to wait for papers to be made 
out." "Then they found there was no indictment w'hen 
we left Lawrence?" And he was forced to say there was 
none at that time. He was very anxious to get to Lecomp- 
ton, but pretended to think the people of Lawrence would 
attack him if he attempted to pass there, and, if I would go 
■with him, he would protect me by their camps, while my 
presence would be a safeguard for him at Lawrence. The 
mutual advantages of the arrangement did not strike me so 



338 KANSAS. 

iorcibly as him. and 1 preferred to stay longer here to get- 
ting into a worse place. Gov. Shannon came to Kansas 
City on the 9th. It was known that he met a large party 
of Georgians at \\'estport. just arrived: and the streets 
were full of the noisy, drunken crowd. He stated his in- 
tention to go down the river. Poor man I he feared for his 
own safety. He was despised by both parties, and a curse 
to himself. As a man who had lost his cattle w-as speaking 
to the governor, trying to get some redress, it was amusing 
to watch the expression of his face. There w'as a look of 
utter weariness, of inability to do anything, of incapacity 
to know what to do. Instead of going down the river, he 
took the first boat to Fort Leavenworth, and the next day 
sent a sealed dispatch to the President. Gov. Shannon 
was frightened, and. as he repeated some things about the 
invasion to Col. Sumner, the colonel grew angry, and 
talked plainly to the governor, telling him "he would have 
driven out the ruffians long ago, had he had the power, 
and now he had, he woidd drive them over the state line. 
or to h — 11." The colonel, with Shannon under his wing, 
started off from the Fort with another company of dragoons, 
three brass six-pound field pieces, and a quantity of stores. 
Col. Sumner was very indignant at the Osaw-atomie affair. 

The investigating committee had also arrived at Kansas 
City on the gth, having finished their laborious work in the 
territory, and their last sittings at Leavenworth and West- 
port being in the midst of war. arrests of their clerks, their 
witnesses, and in general confusion. Every day at \\'est- 
port armed bands of infuriated, drunken men, were mar- 
shalled in the streets. Their threats were open and violent 
against the committee. Whitfield had left his position 
before the committee to carry fire and sword into the ter- 
ritory. The last afternoon there was an effort made to 
create a disturbance, but the firmness of the majority of the 
committee effectually quelled it. 

The people of Westport soon began to grow weary of the 
troublesome men whom they had invited into their midst. 



TWO WEEKS IN JUNE ON THE MISSOURI BORDER. 339 

Not content w'ith robbing free-state people, the Westport 
people said, "No man was sure, when he fastened his 
horse and went into a store, that he would find it on his 
return." Such an experience was a little troublesome, so 
they called a meeting to express their disapprobation of 
this invasion into the territory, to state that they had no 
sympathy with it. But the insincerity of the movement 
Avas expressed by the total failure of the meeting, only six 
persons remaining until its close. They probably forgot 
that at the same time a call was in all the papers, signed 
by one of the most influential citizens of Westport. for 
"provisions and horses to carry on the w'ar. " A few days 
after, another meeting was called, and a resolution was 
passed to the effect that they had taken no part in this in- 
vasion upon the territory, in the outrages, such as murder, 
hanging, etc. A man, who shot Mr. Cantrell, voted for 
this resolution. Another man. more honest at least, (irose 
and said he w-as of a party which had gone through a mock 
hanging; but the resolution passed. 

Business was dead at Kansas City. For the few last 
days I was there nothing was stirring; where before, for 
the press of teams, a person could pass with the greatest 
difficulty, scarcely any one could be seen. The warehouse 
men had received word from Lawrence that all freights in 
their houses, consigned to merchants there, must be ship- 
ped to Leavenw^orth. This made them anxious, for through 
their pockets their feelings had been reached. The busi- 
ness men invited conversation with some eastern men. 
They said they would call meetings expressive also of their 
disapprobation; but they were assured the move was too 
late: that it would not be regarded as sincere: that eastern 
capital was timid, cautious; -that it would not be convinced; 
that money, which would have come in here, would go 
where life and property are safe: that eastern travel would 
leave the Missouri river for a northern route. 

One man, who brought the governor's proclamation down 
to Westport and Kansas City, was on the way, through the 



340 



KANSAS. 



border towns, to raise more men for the war. Wm. Don- 
aldson, several days after, was at Independence, endeavor- 
ing to induce men to go up and attack Topeka. The fol- 
lowing letter from Independence states the fact: 

"Independence, Mo., Thursday, June 12, 1856. 

"Postmaster, Lawrence, K. T. : There were some men 
here yesterday trying to get men to go with them to the 
territory, for the purpose of going to Topeka to burn it up. 
Now, for God's sake, send an express immediately to that 
place, and get the people there to send for the United 
States troops to protect them. One of the men that were 
here was named William Donaldson (brother of Postscript 
D. ), and he said that Shannon had left the territory and 
gone home, leaving Secretary Woodson as acting governor, 
and that he would let the pro-slavery party do as they 
pleased, and that now was the time to burn out, kill and 
drive every free-state man from the territory. 

'T am a pro-slavery man myself, but I want things done 
honorably, and give you the warning now. Do not delay, 
for they will be in Topeka in a very few days. 

"Respectfully, James Brown. 

"P. S. — This is not my proper name, but what is said is 
true." 

Several women, whose lives had been passed amid the 
influences of slavery, were a novel study. One who boarded 
in the hotel, a lady in manner, seemed anxious to know all 
that was transpiring in and around the house, and to gain 
such knowledge did not hesitate to listen at the doors of 
other people's rooms. One evening, three times was she 
found standing in the dark passage-way near a room, where 
several of the free-state people were chatting socially. 

Another, a young girlish thing, full of quick wit and 
ready repartee, though as uncultivated as the unhewn rock, 
occasioned us many a laugh. She was a native of this far 
west, and it seemed to be as natural for her to swear as to 
breathe. Almost every sentence, besides the oath, t-ither 
began or finished with the assertion "I am a real border 



TWO WEEKS IN JUNE ON THE MISSOURI BORDER. 34I 

ruffian. " She talked a good deal of a proposed visit to 
her husband's parents in Vermont, and wondered "what 
they would say when they saw a live border ruffian." 

There was another person, whose languid airs and affected 
manner of speech would entitle her, in the great world of 
fashion, to the name of lady. The subject of temperance 
lectures being one day incidentally introduced, she said, 
"It was not because her husband was a seller of liquors 
that she never attended such lectures, but where she had 
lived it had not been considered respectable for ladies to 
attend them." She concluded by saying "that in these 
days of isms she supposed some would attend them." 

There was another woman, native-born, who came to the 
house, occasionally, at the time it was passing into new 
hands. She owned one of the colored "boys," who was 
hired in the hotel. She came to make some arrangement 
with the new proprietor. She was a maiden lady, consid- 
erably on the down-hill side of life, large, portly, with 
most expressionless face, but she had '"raised" the "boy," 
and she "wanted him treated kindly." She said, "she 
had thought she would let him have what wages he made 
through the summer." When the proprietor, quite harshly, 
said, "it did not do to treat negroes well," she said "she 
had never struck the boy a blow in her life, and she would 
have him well treated; he could stay a month, and if he 
did not like he could leave." 

In a conversation with a little daughter of the former 
proprietor, she said, "\\'here are you from?" 

' • ^Massachusetts. " 

"What county is that in?" 

"Massachusetts is a state," timidly replied the sensitive 
girl, not liking to show any superiority of knowledge. 

"Yes, I know that: but what county is it in?" 

There seemed to be a confusion of ideas. She knew she 
lived in Jackson county, and to her, probably, that com- 
prised all Missouri. As far as native intelligence went, the 
colored boy was her superior, and she evidently regarded 



342 KANSAS. 

him with the same affection she would a white boy whom 
she had reared. 

A most forcible display of the evil passions aroused and 
strengthened by the system of slavery, and the effect which 
absolute power over one's fellow-creature has upon the 
character, w^as made one day at dinner. A stranger un- 
fortunately had taken the seat which this boarder usually 
occupied. He came late to his meal, and saw the seat was 
taken, and, as he stood in the doorway, looking up and 
down the table, turning his head this way and that, in most 
furious manner, there was in his face scarcely one expres- 
sion of the '"human face divine." He was an intemperate 
man, and now, when his passions were aroused, his ap- 
pearance suggested wild animals, — a whole menagerie. 
Seeing his strange actions and looks, we supposed he was 
looking for some one at the table, against whom such wrath 
had concentrated, but he finally turned and told the pro- 
prietor, '"he should leave the house before the sun-setting, 
and he would have it torn down: not another night should 
it stand." Thus he raved all that afternoon, in the house 
and out of the house, endeavoring to gather a crowd; but 
toward evening another dram gave him a quietus for the 
night and the next day. and the matter ended. 

It was at last decided by Col. Sumner, that, for the pres- 
ent, he would keep the "prisoners" at Lecompton, as so 
many of his forces must be drawn away from the fort. It 
was impossible to get to Law-rence by way of Westport, 
and all travelers thither must go up the river to Leaven- 
worth, and across the Delaware Reserve. The boats were 
getting scarce. One came up heavily loaded with Mor- 
mons; every place on the upper deck was crowded with 
large emigrant-wagons, and the living freight packed in at 
every corner. Dirt and filth were visible, and the looks of 
these women, "sealed" to the Mormon faith and their 
tyrannical husbands, was one of utter misery. About the 
same time, one of the down boats carried, as passengers, 
two of the Mormon elders on their way to Washington, on 



TWO WEEKS IN JUNE ON THE MISSOURI BORDER. 343 

business relating to the admission of Utah as a state. 
Several ladies on board were able to distinguish them, 
among the crowd, from their coarse, brutal looks. 

At last the Keystone came, and, on the evening of the 
13th, in company with a gentleman and lady from Massa- 
chusetts, whose intelligence and pleasing ways had con- 
tributed much to the comfort of my detention in Kansas 
City, I left for Leavenworth, and they for a summer stay 
at Council Bluffs. 

On the boat we overheard a conversation between a Ken- 
tucky lady and a lady from Missouri. The former said: 

"They are having exciting times in Kansas!" 

"Yes; a great many have gone over from the border 
counties." 

"Well, Kansas will be a free state in the end. The 
Yankees have determined upon it, and when they have 
determined upon a thing, they have so much more energy 
than the Southerners, they will accomplish it." 

The idea did not seem to please the Missouri lady, but 
she replied, "Tf I lived in Kansas, I would want it a free 
state; but to live in Alissouri, I want it a slave state." 

"We had slaves in Kentucky, but we preferred to come 
to Kansas, because we know property is more valuable in 
a free state, and its institutions are more desirable. Many 
people in Kentucky are of the same mind." 

The rudder of the boat was slightly damaged by running 
into the bank in the fog of the morning, and, becoming 
more dense every moment, it was impossible to keep the 
boat under way. Hence, when we reached Leavenworth, 
the stage had gone to Lawrence. The next day was Sun- 
day, and it rained heavily, and all the morning of Monday. 
A friend. Mr. Samuel Kimball, was over from Lawrence, 
and "if I would risk getting a drenching," he said, "we 
would start." I was enough of a water-fowl not to mind 
rain, and, to the surprise of the pleasant Kentucky family 
with whom I stopped, I appeared all ready for a drive 
when the little blue bit of sky was continually varying from 



344 KANSAS. 

the size of one's hand to that of a yard square, and the sun 
was playing "hide-and-seek" with the dark clouds. Save 
the driving out of our way at one time, and the slippery state 
of the roads, we had a pleasant ride through the beautiful 
Delaware country. It needs only some pleasant houses, 
grouped among the clumps of trees, to give it the look of 
a long-settled country. As I was leaving the boat at 
Leavenworth, a gentleman had spoken to me, calling me 
by name. He said he was Dr. Fisher, and would recom- 
mend my going to Father Kellar's. a strong free-state man, 
and a Kentuckian. in preference to the Planter's House, 
which was full of the rough border men. I thanked him 
most heartily for his thoughtfulness. Mr. Frank Kimball 
had come all the way from Massachusetts, went up as far 
as St. Joseph on the boat and back again to Leavenworth, 
but did not dare to make himself known to his brother. 
Mr. Samuel Kimball, who was waiting on the levee for 
him. 

Leavenworth, situated on the Missouri, has the finest 
landing for many miles. The site of the town is broken 
with small hills, and some fine swells in the distance invite 
residences. Tasteful hands prepared the town-site, and 
left many trees and shrubs standing. The advantage 
Leavenworth has over the other settlements, in procuring 
pine lumber directly from St. Louis, shows itself in the 
good-sized dwellings built witli porticos and piazzas, and 
yards neatly fenced. There are. at present, no large pub- 
lic buildings. Thirty stores stand near the levee, and have 
done a large business. The present state of things in the 
territory has produced a general depression in trade, and 
none feel it more than the people at Leavenworth. The 
majority of the settlers are free-state people, mostly from 
Pennsylvania. Owing to its nearness to ^lissouri. and 
ease of access to the border men, they have come over in 
crowds, and. uniting with the few "fire-eaters"" in and 
around Leavenworth, have controlled e\erything, making 
mob-law the rule. Leavenworth must, unavoidably, be a 



TWO WEEKS IN JUNE ON THE MISSOURI BORDER. 345 

large commercial point in the West, and now holds the 
first rank in size in the territory. 

As the evening was fast coming, we emerged from the 
heavy timber on the north bank of the Kansas, and waited 
for the ferry-boat on the other side of the river. 

Desolation sat in the despoiled city; the one broken wall 
of the hotel was yet standing; there was no home on Mt. 
Oread: plunder and fire had wrought the ruin there, and 
the destructiveness of the mob had only been satiated by 
the girdling of every tree transplanted there. 

Still there was a home feeling in getting back to Law- 
rence, notwithstanding my husband was in prison and 
myself homeless. And most heartily were the glad assur- 
ances of welcome and interest, from many friends clustered 
around, reciprocated. 

There was a new excitement in Lawrence. A man. by 
the name of Hopkins, had been shot the evening before. 
He was found dead in the house of a new comer, named 
Haney. • The circumstances seemed to prove that, in at- 
tempting to rid the world of a monster who had boasted of 
having killed three men and four Indians, he was him- 
self shot. The immediate cause of the feeling against 
Haney was. his having acted as deputy sheriff of Douglas 
county in the arrest of David Evans, familiarly known as 
'•Buckskin." This Evans w'as the man who effectually 
cowed the pro-slavery men, and especially the Hungarian 
doctor, in the case of the free black man. the summer 
before. Evans, being a INIissourian. and a free-state man, 
was e.xposed, as all other free-state men coming from slave 
states are, to the intense bitterness of the border ruffians. 
The dragoon government was set in motion. Haney, with 
fourteen dragoons, stopped and inquired for "Dave."' He 
being the one accosted, and suspecting some foul play, 
told them he was "round there. " As they went to look 
for him, "Dave" was fast nearing the ravine; but they 
espied him, and, with a loud halloo, hastened after him, 
while Haney shouted, "Shoot himl shoot him! shoot the 



346 KANSAS. 

d — d rascal!" The officer in command cried, "Don't 
shoot," but at the cry "'Shoot him," Dave had stopped. 
Haney demanded his arms, but Evans, disdaining to notice 
him, said to the officer of the dragoons, stepping near him, 
"I can't give my pistol to that d — d rascal, but if you want 
it, captain, here it is." Lecompton was the destination 
of the prisoner, and he rode by the side of the officer, 
declaring, "he would not keep company with the d — d 
sneaking scoundrel." Haney showed no writ, and the 
threat, "'ril subdue you," was carried out by the U. S, 
dragoons. Evans was taken to Lecompton and put in 
chains, like a felon. 




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CHAPTER XXI. 

THE U. S. CAMP — DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

Early on the morning of the 17th, with a brother of my 
husband, and Geo. Earl, I left for Lecompton, or for "Uncle 
Sam's Bastile" on the Kansas prairies, which had been 
moved a mile and a half, or two miles, from that tribunal 
of justice. It was only a day or two since persons had 
been allowed to go in, and some doubt existed whether 
I could have the privilege. We came in sight of the tents. 
There were three in one row, with poles set along in front, 
and cloth spread over them, and upon the tents, making a 
long shady place, which Earl told me was called the 
"pavilion." The tents being a few feet apart, the cloth 
stretched over them, made a fine place to sit, for the table 
and all culinary arrangements. Another row of tents was 
pitched in front of these, with only a driveway between, 
while the captain's tent was on a rise of ground a little 
distant. 

The carriage was driven to the oiftcers' tent, and Alfred 
Robinson went to inquire if we could go in. He looked 
vexed as he returned, and said, "You can go in." I said, 
"Can't you go too?" "Not without going to Jones for a 
pass, and unless Charles wants to see me very much, I'll 
not go to him." 

I ran down and met my husband just outside the tent; 
the sentinel was pacing back and forth, close to the pavil- 
ion, musket in hand. He stopped a half moment at the 
sight of a new face, then resumed the everlasting tread. 
I went back to tell Alfred that Charles wished to see him, 



348 KANSAS. 

and he started for Lecompton. The prisoners looked well, 
with the exception of Judge Smith, who was suffering with 
chills, and were contented, and hopeful that their impris- 
onment would accomplish more good than their liberty 
could. The prisoners now had their papers, and letters, 
and two or three friends had been in. Some books 
also had been sent up from Lawrence. For exercise, they 
walked in front of the tents, brought wood from the timber 
close by, and water from the spring a little distant. They 
notified the guard of their desire to take these short trips, 
by saying, "I want a gun;" and a man with a musket 
would be provided. The screeching of the trumpet, call- 
ing the soldiers to their various duties, added not a little 
to a headache, induced by weariness and anxiety. If ever 
I realized that there was more truth than poetry in the words 
of Mrs. Swisshelm, when she said, "I never see a man in 
regimentals but I think somebody has lost his monkey," it 
was when I saw daily the want of power to act out one's 
manliness, while remaining in the army. One's feelings 
were continually outraged by arrests made, the troops acting 
as "posse comitatus." To join the army is to become an 
automaton, in action at least. 

After I had had my little rest, and the "prisoners" and 
Mrs. Jenkins were sitting around to hear my story of how 
my "days of absence" had been passed, the following 
colloquy ensued between my husband and myself: 

"Where is your money?" 

"Money? What do you know about money?" 

"Haven't we had the papers? Haven't we seen in them 
that at Bloomington, and in the cars, to and from, money 
was given to you?" 

"Yes, I expected to give you a surprise when I should 
arrive, but, I left the money, three hundred and sixty- 
seven dollars, the Illinois friends gave me, with Mr. Coates 
at Kansas City." 

"You should have brought it. To-morrow the commit- 
tee will come up from Lawrence to arrange for getting in 



U. S. CAMP — DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 349 

flour and provisions at Topeka that we may be able to 
withstand a siege." 

"I brought back three hundred and twenty-five dollars — 
little interest moneys that my sister had collected for me. 
Do you want that also?" 

"Yes, if you are willing. It will help us much." 

"Then I will make out- the proper papers to give the 
committee for Mr. Coates." 

There were other times afterwards when a little money 
came opportunely, and went into the general fund. I re- 
member one time when Dr. Robinson, Mr. Ewing and 
others had gone out on the campaign, and the money was 
minus. Quite unexpectedly a letter from the old home 
roof brought me eighty dollars. I said, I must keep six 
dollars with which to buy some apple trees for our hill- 
side, and the next day Henry J. Adams and S. C. Smith 
started out on the rough campaign in Western Kansas. 

On the igth, Haney again appeared in the streets of 
Lawrence, at the head of about forty dragoons. Mr. 
Legate was in the street. Haney commanded him to 
assist in arresting a Mr. Colburn; he refused to do it. 

Haney became excited, and ordered the troops to 
arrest Mr. Legate and take him to the camp. They thea 
commanded the prisoner to walk before them, which he 
refused doing under any circumstances whatever. One of 
the dragoons then dismounted, and Legate took his seat in 
the saddle, and a company of horse conducted him to the 
camp. 

Haney then rode up and down Massachusetts street with 
the troops, looking for some one to make prisoner; at the 
same time swearing vengeance against the people of Law- 
rence, and declaring that "he would keep the troops here 
until the snow fell, if necessary, to arrest the free-state men 
or abolitionists; the d — d town must be subdued," etc. 

At this time he saw Major D. S. Hoyt walking across the 
street. He immediately drove up to where Hoyt was, 
followed by the dragoons, and said: 



350 KANSAS. 

"Mr. Hoyt, 3-011 are m}^ prisoner." 

"By what authority do you arrest me?" asked Hoyt. 

"By the authority of the territorial laws," replied Haney. 

Hoyt then demanded to see the writs for his arrest The 
deputy said he had none. Hoyt then refused to be mo- 
lested by him, and proceeded to walk across the street. 
Haney did not know what to' do at this crisis. He was 
relieved from his dilemma by the lieutenant of the com- 
pany, riding up to Hoyt, and commanding him to halt, and 
saying, 

"I arrest 5'ou; you are my prisoner, and must go with 
me." 

The dragoons surrounded their victim, and he was 
forced to go to the camp. The soldiers soon returned, and 
went to a grocery, where they were all treated to a drink. 
The whiskey was passed around among them in a large 
wooden bucket, and they were allowed to drink as they 
could. They then returned to camp and took the prison- 
ers to Lecompton. 

When they reached there, Gov. Shannon refused to 
recognize Haney as having any authority to arrest prisoners, 
and informed that worthy that he had no right to bring 
prisoners there. 

Sheriff Jones was on hand, and prepared papers for the 
rearrest of the prisoners instanter. 

Gov. Shannon, seeing that Jones had the advantage of 
possessing "legal" papers for the arrest, said no more, and 
the prisoners were then taken to a cabin. Mr. Legate was 
put in irons by order of the sheriff, and they were both 
locked up for the night. 

The same night, the soldiers, in a state of intoxication, 
were prowling about Lawrence, breaking into houses, and 
making a noise generally. At this time the people of 
Lawrence came in carriage-loads to see the "traitors." 
Capt. Walker, of the U. S. Regulars, the officer in com- 
mand, had power, for a few days, to allow any persons to 
come in. The opportunity was improved. They came 



U. S. CAMP — DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 351 

bringing books, strawberries, gooseberries, figs, lemons, 
prunes, ice-creams, and early vegetables. There was a 
general thoughtfulness for the "prisoners," and none came 
empty-handed. Little Marshal Cramer, whose inferior, 
even distressed-looking face, has gained him the soubriquet 
of "monkey-faced," called one day with Col. Preston, who 
had been one of my husband's guard on his removal from 
Lexington. He did not say anything, but he evidently 
thought the prisoners were bearing the changes of life too 
lightly. He gave the captain orders not to let any one in, 
or even letters. Then there was a da}^ or two, when per- 
sons coming were not allowed to see the prisoners, but 
Mrs. Jenkins and I could go out to the captain's tent, and 
see them. I was much amused one day, when Dr. Prentiss 
from Lawrence with his wife came. He had also with him 
the wife of a gentleman, against whom the pro-slavery 
party had some bitterness, and she was introduced to the 
captain and lieutenant by her maiden name. Mrs. L^-man 
Allen was very young and girlish looking, and as she was 
talking pleasantly with the lieutenant, thoughiearnestly, 
upon the outrageous course of President Pierce, he, in a 
laughing way, said, "You are a little fanatic, but you'll 
marry some Southerner one of these days." She laughed, 
and went on talking. The lieutenant is of southern birth, but 
is far from being intolerant, and no one could have treated 
the prisoners more gentlemanly. Capt. Walker too seemed 
to feel hurt at this "shutting down" upon the prisoners, 
and told me "he would do any thing he^couldi for them, 
but he must obey orders." Marshal Donaldson came in a 
day or two, and denied having sent any -new orders to Cra- 
mer, and again any one could come in. 

Evans was released toward the last of June. Efforts 
had been made to bail him out, but. the ^bogus probate 
judge. Dr. J. P. Wood, of former notoriety at«Lawrence, 
fixed the bail at five thousand dollars. The love of free- 
dom is a crime in Kansas. The probable reason|of the re- 
lease was a disinclination on the part of the pro-slavery 



352 KANSAS. 

men to bear the extra expense of prisoners. Not being 
"traitors," the United States government could not be 
charged with their support. 

On the 26th, two young men arrived in Lawrence, from 
New York, by means of a pass from Atchison. Sixty men 
coming to settle in tlie territory, with ploughs, harrows, 
and all farming implements, were turned back, after being 
disarmed, first at Lexington, then at Leavenworth, by 
Atchison and Stringfellow. 

The Missourians not only have become plunderers and 
highwaymen, but pirates, in the service of the present ad- 
ministration. A few days after, Dr. Cutter's party, from 
Massachusetts, were also robbed, and sent back. At 
Liberty, the cannon on the shore was fired, and directions 
were given to the gunner "not to fire too high, as people 
were on the opposite bank." At Weston, Buford and 
twenty others, came on board, and kept them under strict 
surveillance until the boat reached St. Louis. 

While such deeds of blood and violence were being com- 
mitted on the river, the Indian agent, Gay, was killed, 
near Westport, by some of Buford's men. Upon his re- 
plying in the affirmative to the question, "Are you in favor 
of making Kansas a free state?" he was immediately shot. 

Bands of the marauders infested the woods on the West- 
port route. They plundered wagons of provisions, for 
subsistence, and struck down the unwary. In camp we 
were awakened one morning by loud words near by. One 
of the "chivalry" was talking to Major Sedgwick in no 
gentlemanly way. 

When the news of the nomination of Buchanan and 
Breckenridge was received in Lecompton, a meeting was 
called. The celebrated "Sheriff Jones" was the president 
of the meeting, while kindred spirits filled the other ofifices. 
The following resolutions were unanimously adopted: 

''Resolved, That we have entire confidence in James 
Buchanan and John C. Breckenridge, as sound and true 
national democrats, and believe them to be the best men 



U. S. CAMP DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 353 

who could have been selected as the exponents of the prin- 
ciples of the platform adopted by the Cincinnati conven- 
tion, and noble standard-bearers, who will rally to them- 
selves and their platform all Union-loving men and true 
democrats. 

''Resolved, That we do most heartily approve and endorse 
the leading measures of the administration of Franklin 
Pierce, and have the utmost confidence in the integrity 
and patriotism of S. A. Douglas; and while some of us 
may have preferred the nomination of one or two other of 
these able statesmen, yet we do heartily endorse the nomi- 
nation of James Buchanan, and look upon his election as 
necessary to the stability and safety of the Union." 

On the 23d the prisoners received an accession to their 
numbers in the persons of Capt. John Brown, Jr., and H. 
H. Williams, likewise dignified with the name of "traitors." 
The former was still insane, and continued so during the 
whole of his stay in camp. Every day he walked up and 
down in front of the tents, with his hands behind him, 
looking up into the sky. These gentlemen, upon hearing 
of the intended attack upon Lawrence in May, had, in 
company with one hundred others from the region of Osa- 
watomie, left their homes for her defence. Having heard, 
when a few miles distant, that the people of Lawrence 
would make no resistance to the force brought against 
them, they returned to their homes. Fifteen of them were 
at first taken prisoners by a part of Whitfield's gang of 
ruffians. Seven were rescued, and eight taken for trial to 
Tecumseh, after being kept in irons two weeks, under the 
guard of United States troops, Capt. Wood, of company 
C, commanding. 

Capt. Brown had a rope tied around his arms so tightly, 
and drawn behind him, that he will for years bear the marks 
of the ropes, where they wore into his flesh. He was then 
obliged to hold one end of a rope, the other end being 
carried by one of the dragoons; and for eight miles, in a 
burning sun, he was driven before them, compelled to go 
33 



354 KANSAS. 

fast enough to keep from being trampled on by the horses. 
On being taken to Tecumseh, they were chained two and 
two, with a common trace-chain, and padlock at each end. 
It was so fixed as to clasp tightly around the ankle. One 
day they were driven thirty miles, with no food from early 
morning until night. The journey in a hot June day was 
most torturing to them. Their chains wore upon their 
ankles until one of them, unable to go further, was placed 
upon a horse. 

The testimony at Tecumseh was general against them, 
all alike; but five were released, while the three, who are 
members of the Topeka Legislature, were retained. 

The people of Lecompton, hearing of the new arrival of 
the free-state men in the territory, were in continual fear 
of attacks. Their days were filled with rumors of intended 
attacks, and their nights with vigils. For several days be- 
fore the 3d of July, Col. Titus, and other choice spirits, 
had called upon Capt. Walker more frequently than usual, 
and the 31st of June was spent by them in consultation. 
July ist, about eleven and a half o'clock, W. A. Phillips, of 
the N. V. Tribune, and Emily, the young lady who had 
been part of my household, came from Lawrence. Our 
plan had been for Emily to remain with me a few da}-s, 
while Mrs. Jenkins could go down to look after her family 
at home. They were informed by the captain that they 
"could not come into the tents." Afterwards an unwilling 
consent was given that "Emily could come in, and Mrs. 
Jenkins go to Lawrence; but Mrs. Jenkins could not come 
back until after the sixth, and not then if there was any 
trouble at Topeka." 

Mr. Phillips asked "what authority he had for such re- 
strictions;" and the officer's reply was, "I have authority." 
Mr. Deitzler also asked him "if he had orders from the 
marshal;" and his reply, given with a good deal of hesi- 
tancy, and an evident effort at dignity, "I do not act with- 
out orders," was certainly equivocal. 

After the carriage conveying our disappointed visitors 



U. S. CAMP DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 355 

back to Lawrence was fairly out of sight, Capt. Walker 
returned to our tents, saying, "I forgot to mention that I 
shall move camp in about an hour. I will have a wagon 
here to convey you there." So, with finishing getting din- 
ner, etc., the hour passed away, and Col. Titus' big wagon, 
greasy from having transported bacon, was obliged to wait 
a half hour, while I washed, and Mr. Deitzler dried the 
dishes, Judge Smith and my husband packing them in 
boxes and baskets. A letter had been written to the Leg- 
islature by the "prisoners," cautioning its members against 
any aggressive act, should Col. Sumner have orders to dis- 
perse them on the coming Fourth of July. It was also 
said that Lane was coming to Topeka through Iowa, which 
gave us a new occasion for disquietude. The Legislature 
must act with reason, and under whatever provocation 
make no resistance to the Federal forces. A little clump 
of woods was near the tents on the south. Mr. Snyder, 
son-in-law of Judge Wakefield, lived on the other side, on 
the traveled road to Topeka. Seeing the dilemma this 
sudden order to "move tents" had made for the prisoners, 
Mrs. Jenkins said, "We shall need more milk, shall I go 
for it?" It was indeed a happy thought. So, donning the 
\exy pt'tite buff sun bonnet, and pail in hand, she went out 
demurely in the little path down through the woods, and 
not very long after came back just as demurely. She must 
have quickened her steps when she was fairly out of our 
sight. Now, she helped in the tent matters preparatory 
to a move, while the rest were striking the tents and taking 
down our pavilion. It was always a mystery to Captain 
Walker when he saw the famous letter copied into many a 
newspaper, east and west, upon what wings it had been 
borne out of his closely guarded camp. At last we were 
packed in with bags, baskets, and anything we preferred 
carrying in our own care, and jolted along the mile and a 
half in a scorching sun. A mule team was in advance. 
Some of the blue coats rode each side of us, and the main 
body of this portion of the President's army of subjugation 



356 KANSAS. 

brought up the rear. Out in the prairie, less than a mile 
from Lecompton, we came to a double log cabin, and as 
we alighted, and our chairs were taken from the wagon, 
the captain, pointing to the right hand cabin, said, "You 
can go in there, and stay." We went in. There was no 
window, and no air in the cabin; but a woman, dressed in 
bright-red calico, with blue undersleeves, black mits, and 
shingle sun-bonnet, sat there sewing on a muslin of gay 
colors, in stripes of exceeding width. My husband said 
something to her; but she seemed anything but social, and 
we took our chairs and walked out again. The space be- 
tween the buildings was shady; so we sat there and read 
our newspapers, and looked at the men as they pitched the 
tents in the rear of the cabin. 

The other room was occupied by the owner of the place, 
a Pennsylvanian and a free-state man; and for a week only 
had this cabin been rented to a pro-slavery family. Neither 
of these families had been consulted in this arrangement of 
the camp; but a brother of the pro-slavery man, living in 
Lecompton, had expressed his approval. When the pro- 
slavery man came home at night, he made loud threats of 
"driving off the free-state man, and holding his claim." 

Towards evening a padlock was tried upon the door, and 
at dark we were ordered to sleep in the log cabin, the 
family being driven from their home. It was the intention 
of Capt. Walker to lock the door; but Messrs. Jenkins and 
Deitzler talked to him so rousingly, telling him, "if they 
were to be hung, he had better begin then, as it would be 
better than suffocation," that he failed to carry his plans 
into execution. So seven men and two women had to stay 
in one little room without a window. The mattresses lay 
so close upon the floor that ours was slid partly under the 
bedstead, upon which Mrs. Jenkins sat up to fan herself 
until near morning, when she retreated to the tents for a 
short nap. Had the want of air, and the oppression been 
less, sleep would have been prevented by the continual 
noise during the night. Fifteen "law-and-order" men. 



U. S. CAMP DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 357 

from Lecompton, came in at different times in the night to 
offer their services in case of a rescue; and that Captain 
Walker took them to his tent and "treated" them has never 
been denied. All night "Halt!" "Who goes there?" "A 
friend." "Sergeant of the guard! Advance!" resounded. 

July jd. — Yesterday and today the heat has been oppres- 
sive. Some of the prisoners suggest that it is greater on 
account of our proximity to Lecompton. They say "they 
can smell the brimstone and see the smoke." A part of 
our things were not brought from the other camp, as prom- 
ised, and, without any shade, we have to cook and eat, 
suffering much from the heat. If we did not laugh and 
make merry, the wrinkles in our faces would become indel- 
ibly fixed. While we, as all dwellers in Kansas, feel a 
terrible hatred to tyrannj', which those living in quiet 
homes can never appreciate, we are still quick to catch the 
stray sunbeams on our pathway, and to our courage add 
cheerfulness. Judge Smith, with his dry sayings, would 
make the longest and most sedate countenance shorten in 
a smile; and no company of the same number could have 
been found with a more pervading love of fun, and a 
greater fund of good-humor. So, however "dark the cloud, 
we find the silver lining." 

There is an ever-present indignation at the course of the 
administration and its underlings; but with it there is the 
realization, strong as the "everlasting hills," that its villainy 
will work its own ruin. 

Woodson, Fain, and other "law-and-order" men from 
Lecompton, were in camp yesterday. Several of these 
men have sat in their wagon watching us a long time to- 
day. They tried quite perseveringly to learn who were the 
tenants of the various tents, and "which was which" of the 
prisoners. One of them came into our tents without ask- 
ing permission of the captain, and was ordered away several 
times by the guard before leaving. They appeared to feel 
themselves particularly privileged above other men, and it 
was amusing to see them march along with great nonchal- 



358 KANSAS. 

ance in spite of the sentinel's cry of "Halt!" but it was 
more so when a sudden period was put to their locomotion, 
as the guard leveled his gun at them, and they, with an as- 
sumed air of innocent ignorance, cried, "Halt! halt! is it 
us you are hallooing at?" 

John Brown, Jr., has been ill several days; and, for a 
day or two, very delirious. To get the air he lay out upon 
the ground in the shadow of the tents. A physician from 
Lawrence was sent for, also provisions. 

Towards evening great preparations for defence were 
made. Large government wagon-bodies were taken from 
the wheels, and placed against the open space between the 
cabins. They were filled with corn, barrels, and sacks. 
Capt. Walker flitted around, as though he had the affairs 
of a continent resting upon his shoulders, until the barri- 
cades were completed. He also compelled the free-state 
family to vacate their room. He knocked the chinking out 
of the walls and took possession. 

The family went half a mile to their nearest neighbor's 
to sleep, and every night and morning we had a general 
move between the house and tents. When the "tattoo" 
sounded, it was our signal for retreat to the poor little 
prison. 

Drs. Prentiss and Tolles did not arrive at camp until after 
nine o'clock, and Capt. Brown, Jr., was obliged to go to 
the officers' tent to see them. Provisions and clothing, 
brought in by another team, were taken there, as well as 
the mail, and not an article escaped strict search. 

^th. — There were three men in from Lecompton last 
night. The captain took them into his cabin to show them 
the port-holes. There was also a ruse last night. A pistol- 
shot was fired; then the word came that the picket-guard 
had been fired upon. Capt. Walker was in motion; but 
some little time elapsed before he sent any one down to 
the guard. The matter was probably understood among 
the men. 

There has been no battle yet! The wagon-bodies are all 



U. S. CAMP DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 359 

whole, and the corn-bags yet undisturbed! Capt. Walker's 
head is yet safe, and the world moves on! At daybreak 
there were three more ruffians at the captain's tent. About 
eight o'clock Crowder, one of the pretended officials, came 
also to his tent, and had a long conference. The horses of 
the privates are continually lent to these men, of which 
they complain bitterly. We did not receive our papers 
from the officers' tent until the middle of the forenoon. 
(A letter was never given to one of the prisoners.) 

Was there ever such a glorious country as this, with petty 
tyrants made weak-headed Dy a little power? Austrian 
despotism is liberty in comparison. 

We heard this morning, from Lecompton, that the cause 
of our removal here was to protect that town; an agree- 
ment of mutual protection having been entered into by the 
people there and Capt. Walker. We are also acquainted 
with the movements of our friends, notwithstanding the 
watchful vigilance of our heroic keeper. 

jM. — Last night brought the intelligence of the disper- 
sion of the Legislature at the point of the bayonet. Col. 
Sumner arrived here this morning, and three companies of 
troops passed by. Capt. Walker came down to our tents 
with Col. Sumner. Col. Sumner said "he was sorry the 
Legislature did not disperse at the reading of the procla- 
mation; that the free-state men had injured their own 
cause." 

My husband replied, "that he was sorry they dispersed 
until he fired upon them, and, if he had been there, he 
would have obliged him to do so." 

"You could not have obliged me to do it, for I should 
not have fired." When Col. Sumner was asked what he 
would have done, he said, "I might have tied your arms 
behind you. " 

My husband told him the constitution gave them a right 
to meet and memorialize congress. The treatment we had 
received the last week was also plainly stated to Colonel 
Sumner, and he at once ordered our letters given us, and 



360 KANSAS. 

our friends to be allowed to come in. Judge Smith was 
very ill again, and in his delirium the week's course of dis- 
cipline seemed to be on his mind. 

Another page has been written, in the histor_v of the 
American people, in unparalleled infamy. Another scene 
in this dark and tragic drama of crushing out a free people 
has been enacted. Instead of the brilliant panorama and 
festive scenes which for years past, on this anniversary, 
have spoken the heart-gladness for liberties gained through 
years of struggle, the people of this mighty nation wear 
sackcloth and mourning. The star-spangled banner no 
longer waves over a free people, but is draggled through 
the blood of those slain, at the bidding of a merciless ad- 
ministration, on Kansas plains. W. A. Phillips, an eye- 
witness, eloquentl}^ tells the thrilling story: 

"The national flag floated proudl}' over Topeka on the 
Fourth of July; and over the hall of legislation, or state 
buildings, was displayed a flag, American in every respect? 
save that among the stars was a larger additional star on 
the corner — the orphan star of Kansas. 

"Around the large new hotel the convention had assem- 
bled, and proceeded to transact its business. Some half a 
dozen military companies, in handsome uniform, paraded 
about. Ladies promenaded, with little banners flying from 
their parasols. The scene was highly interesting. 

"In spite of the apparent indifference, many hearts 
throbbed anxiously for the denouement of the day's pro- 
ceedings. It was well known that nearly all the military 
force in Kansas was concentrated within a few hundred 
yards in Topeka, and that in the camp of Col. Sumner were 
Secretary Woodson, the infamous Jeffreys Lecompte, Don- 
aldson, who led on the plundering hordes to the sack of 
Lawrence, Judges Cato and Elmore, and other influential 
pro-slavery men; and it was also known that those men, 
who have shown the most inveterate hostility to the settlers 
of Kansas, were plotting mischief against them. All this 
was known, and, although it might make the pulsation of 



U. S. CAMP — DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 361 

some hearts beat quicker, it neither disturbed nor affected 
their action. 

"About ten o'clock, United States Marshal Donaldson, 
accompanied by Judge Elmore, entered the town, and gave 
it to be understood that he had a proclamation to read. 
The convention paused in its business, and invited these 
gentlemen to the stand. Donaldson being, like Moses, not 
particularly well qualified for public speaking, called on 
his Aaron, in the shape of Judge Elmore, who read the 
proclamation of the President, dated in February — a law- 
and-order document, the signification of which was com- 
prehended at the time, and which was now made to do its 
work in the drama, 'We will subdue you.' Next was read 
the second proclamation of Gov. Shannon, issued a month 
ago; and then followed the proclamation of Secretary 
Woodson, which, acting under presidential authority, com- 
manded the Legislature to disperse, and threatened it with 
violence from the troops in case they did not submit to 
this order. The proclamation being read, these gentlemen 
made their exodus as they had made their advent, neither 
being accompanied by any external or visible symptoms of 
a moral earthquake; and the convention proceeded with its 
business, which had been interrupted. This evidently 
chagrined Donaldson, who turned round and interrupted 
the debate upon a resolution, by asking if we had any reply 
to carry down to Col. Sumner. The president informed 
Mr. Donaldson that this assemblage was not the Legisla- 
ture, to which the proclamation had been specially ad- 
dressed, but asked him if it was desired that we should 
send any repl}'. Donaldson said "No," but, if we had any- 
thing to send, he would convey it. The president, on 
behalf of the convention, informed him that we had no 
communication to send. 

"These gentlemen left, and matters went on as before. 
It was nearly twelve o'clock, the sun was blazing down, 
and the thermometer stood at loo", when we learned that 
Col. Sumner, with five companies of cavalry andjtwo pieces 



362 KANSAS. 

of brass cannon, were leaving their camp and approaching 
Topeka in full military array. Although they were only 
two hundred yards off, the report did not disturb the con- 
vention or other matters. If resistance had been intended, 
Col. Sumner never would have entered Topeka, and would 
have been met before he could get possession. It had 
been determined that no resistance should be offered the 
United States troops, but that we should proceed with our 
business, and let them do their worst. 

"But Col. Sumner fulfilled his duty in as gentlemanly a 
manner as such wretched orders could be obeyed. At the 
moment of his approach, the two Topeka companies, F 
and G, were drawn up before the legislative hall building. 
They had just marched up the street, preceded by martial 
music, and had formed in front of the State House to re- 
ceive a banner the ladies had made for company G. The 
street was filled with a crowd, among whom were many 
ladies arid children, when Col. Sumner appeared with his 
forces, rapidly debouching into Kansas avenue. With 
great rapidity and considerable military skill he threw his 
men forward, and by rapid orders, shouted in a stern, shrill 
voice, formed his companies into the strongest form they 
could occupy for their service. Perhaps many hearts beat 
faster when they thought that a scene of carnage might in 
the next few minutes blot out the startling and brilliant 
panorama. On the one hand, the armed and uniformed 
dragoons, with flashing sabres; on the other, only two 
Topeka companies, with their two banners, one of them 
just received, bearing the inscription, 'Our lives for our 
rights.' Nobly they stood. While the dragoons ap- 
proached, the band was playing, but the drummers contin- 
ued to drum until the drumsticks nearly touched the noses 
of the advancing horses of the dragoons, and only stopped 
when Sumner requested them. One little boy was beating 
the kettle-drum, and rattled it manfully, never turning to 
look at the dragoons. In the rapid movements of the dra- 
goons in forming into position, they pressed on the Topeka 



U. S. CAMP DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. * 363 

companies, but those men kept their position, and only 
stepped out of their ranks when the horses were ridden up 
to them, and only then far enough not to be trampled on. 
The sharp, shrill voice of Sumner rung through Kansas 
avenue and all around the State House, as he gave orders, 
and the dragoons wheeled into form. The two pieces of 
artillery were planted about a hundred yards up the street. 
They were said to be loaded with grape. The slow-match 
was lighted. 

"After the dragoons were placed so as to suit Col. Sum- 
ner's taste, he dismounted, and walked towards the as- 
sembly rooms. Both Senate and House stood adjourned 
to meet at twelve o'clock; a fact of which Col. Sumner ap- 
peared to be aware. The lower house was just assembling 
when Col. Sumner inquired in the hall where the Legisla- 
ture met. Mr. S. F. Tappan, clerk (the speaker, Mr. 
Minard, being absent); called the Legislature to order by 
rapping with the gavel on the speaker's desk. He then 
called the roll, and, there not being a quorum, sent the 
sergeant-at-arms after the absentees. When Sumner had 
first entered, and had been invited forward, he was offered 
a chair at the desk; he jocularly asked if they wanted to 
make him speaker. This was received by a hearty shout 
and laughter. The rooms were crowded by the citizens to 
witness the spectacle, and some ladies got into the room. 
The roll was again called by Mr. Caleb S. Pratt, recording 
clerk, and the absentees marked, when Col. Sumner rose 
and said': 

" 'Gentlemen, I am called upon this day to perform the 
most painful duty of my whole life. Under the authority 
of the President's proclamation, I am here to disperse this 
Legislature, and therefore inform you that you cannot 
meet. I therefore order you to disperse. God knows that 
I have no party feeling in this matter, and will hold none 
so long as I occupy my present position in Kansas. I have 
just returned from the borders, where I have been sending 
home companies of Missourians, and now I am ordered 



364 ' KANSAS. 

here to disperse you. Such are my orders, and you must 
disperse. I now command you to disperse. I repeat that 
this is the most painful duty of my whole life.' 

"Judge Schuyler asked, *Col. Sumner, are we to under- 
stand that the Legislature are driven out at the point of the 
bayonet?' 

"Colonel Sumner: 'I shall use all the forces in my com- 
mand to carry out my orders.' 

"The Legislature dispersed. Some of the members in 
town did not appear at the hall; but the immortal number 
who responded to their names occupy a proud position. 
Some pleasant interchange of civilities occurred between 
Col. Sumner and persons in the hall — members and others. 
He left the hall, and mounted his horse, when he was re- 
minded that he had not dispersed the Senate. He dis- 
mounted, and returned to the Senate chamber, Donaldson 
going with him; Donaldson having also been present at 
the dispersion of the Legislature. The Senate had not yet 
been convened, as it w-as but very little past the appointed 
hour; but Col. Sumner, addressing them in their collective 
capacity, proceeded to disperse them in terms something 
similar to those used in the hall below. When he con- 
cluded there was a pause, the senators standing in a circle 
silently but respectfully. No one was in the hall but the 
senators, the Senate officers, Col. Sumner, Donaldson, and 
your correspondent. Col. Sumner broke the pause by 
asking if they intended to disperse. With calmness and 
dignity, Mr. Thornton, president of the Senate, replied 
that the Senate had not yet convened, and could not make 
any reply. He asked Col. Sumner if he could convene the 
Senate, so that they could make a reply to him. Colonel 
Sumner replied that his orders were to prevent them from 
meeting, and that they could not convene, but must dis- 
perse. 

"Here Donaldson stepped forward, and made the out- 
rageous demand that the senators should promise not to 
assemble again, or he would arrest every member. Mon- 



U. S. CAMP — DISPERSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 365 

strous usurping villainy for a federal officer! If he had 
writs from a court to serve on either of these ofificers, it 
was his duty to serve them independent of any contingency; 
if he had none, he had no right to arrest or molest a man, 
and as little thus to insult popular representatives thus 
assembled. Several senators told Col. Sumner that, when 
thus dispersed by him, they would of course disperse. Mr. 
Pillsbury said that they were there in no condition to resist 
the United State troops, and must of course disperse. 
Thus was the Senate dispersed. 

"When Col. Sumner first entered the town, a committee 
from the mass convention immediately waited on him to 
ask if he intended to disperse the convention, or disband 
the military companies on parade. He replied that he did 
not; he merely intended to disperse the Legislature. While 
the dragoons were thus drawn up, and while Col. Sumner 
made this reply, three cheers were given for Col. Sumner. 
Mr. Redpath cried, 'Three cheers for Gov. Robinson!' 
which were given very heartily, and then three cheers for 
liberty. After Col. Sumner had dispersed both branches 
of the Assembly, and just as he proceeded to march off 
with his forces, in order to show that they respected him 
for his gentlemanly conduct, and did not hold him respon- 
sible for the grievous outrage, three cheers were given for 
Col. Sumner again, three cheers for the national flag, three 
cheers for the State Legislature, three cheers for John C. 
Fremont, which were given as the dragoons were moving 
off, and three groans for Pierce." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

'•LAW-AND-ORDER" men FREE-SIATE MEN AROUSED. 

July jih. — We experienced a heavy rain yesterday. It 
poured through the tents, wetting everything. This tent- 
life in the burning sun and pouring rains will be a good 
recipe for ague or cholera. So, besides the discomfort of 
the present, we have these in anticipation. Capt. Walker 
left on Saturday, and Capt. Sackett, a noble-looking man, 
has the prisoners now in charge. 

To-day a gentleman has been in camp from Illinois. He 
with a party of seventeen were robbed at Leavenworth of 
their arms and farming utensils. Several of them were 
hunted for their lives. (Aid was afterwards asked of Gen. 
Smith in recovering these goods, a letter being sent to him 
from Woodson counselling such interference; but he de- 
clined giving it.) Also, eight families from Illinois, when 
near Platte City, were turned back by one hundred and 
fifty men, armed with United States muskets and bayonets. 
The stereotyped questions of "Where are you from?" and 
•'Where going?" were put to the emigrants. The leader 
of the ruffians said, "I suppose you've hearn that we don't 
allow any movers to go through into the territory." When 
the ruffians proclaimed their intention of searching the 
wagons, an Iowa man objected, but a revolver was quickly 
drawn upon him. After searching their wagons twice, and 
taking all the arms; they took them back under guard to 
Liberty, Missouri, telling them "they could go where they 
pleased, so they did not go into the territory." 



"law-and-order" men, etc. 367 

What new scheme of villainy, for the subjugation of 
Kansas, shall we hear? Step by step the work has gone 
on. Missourians have invaded the territory, and, by force, 
taken possession of the polls They have trampled upon 
the right of the people to make their own laws. They 
have framed a code of laws which would have disgraced 
the dark ages. They have denied the citizens of the terri- 
tory the right of tree speech. They have, for weeks, be- 
sieged a town under the leadership of the governor. They 
have burned and sacked towns under the United States 
Marshal, the aforesaid governor offering no word of disap- 
proval; they have murdered, with all the cruelties of the 
Fejee Islands, peaceable settlers. Without restraint they 
have robbed and pillaged. They have blockaded the Mis- 
souri river. No more bloody or meaner pirates, sailing 
under black flags, ever infested the high seas, years ago. 
Now the debauched and desperate robbers search and send 
back peaceable emigrants, their wagons laden with the 
emblems of their occupation, — ploughs, and farming im- 
plements. 

We have moved camp again to-day, two miles further 
from Lecompton. It was my first experience in the inside of 
these huge covered wagons. I protested that I would rather 
walk than attempt to mount into such a vehicle; but they 
all said, ride. By extra effort Emily and I got in, attempt- 
ing to find a place to sit among the mattresses. At the first 
move, one of the mules, by rapidly throwing up his feet, 
was soon out of harness. The jolting of the wagon was 
intolerable when the mules traveled faster than a walk. 

2gth. — July days are passing with little variety. We 
have a great deal of company; many days four or five 
carriage loads. They are people from Lawrence, and 
other settlements, while many strangers traveling in the 
territory call to "look in upon the traitors." A number of 
ladies living on claims some miles from Lawrence, whom 
we had never met, have visited us in camp. They are very 
intelligent and refined. 



368 KANSAS. 

Gen. Persifer Smith has arrived in Leavenworth. As he 
was passing Delaware, a little settlement among the hills, 
the boat was hailed, and obliged to stop. A band of ruffi- 
ans, gathered from the "four corners of Satan's dominions," 
demanded, "Are there any abolitionists on board?" Gov. 
Shannon and his wife also came up the river in the same 
boat. They came through in the stage from Kansas City 
to Lecompton. When passing places of more than usual 
loveliness, she would say, "she should like a plantation 
there, with about two dozen negroes." To the question 
how she liked "border ruffians," she said, "she liked them 
infinitely better than Massachusetts paupers." Every time 
any attempt was made by others in the stage to vindicate 
the free-state cause, she remarked, "she did not wish to 
hear anything about it." She remained scarcely a week in 
Kansas, and, in reply to the question, "Will you return to 
Kansas?" she said, "I should like to live in Kansas if it is 
a slave state, I suffer so much where I am in associating 
with abolitionists." It would be kind in the governor to 
have regard for her sufferings, and go into some obscurity, 
where she could be relieved from the enlightened intelli- 
gence of Ohio. 

Col. Titus, a few days ago, told a man who came to him 
for money to buy a claim, with oaths, "Wait, and we will 
get it any how. Now is the time to drive out the d — d 
Yankees." 

Acting upon this impression, probably, two days since, 
he attacked a young man, living on a claim two miles from 
Lecompton. After beating him severely, and jumping 
upon him, he ordered an accomplice, standing by, to fire 
his house. A free-state man immediately talked plainly to 
Gov. Shannon in relation to it, and concluded by telling 
him, "if he did not prevent such outrages, the people 
would." 

Gov. Shannon immediately sent for troops to protect 
Titus. Free-state men are driven from their claims, beaten 
and killed. Then the governor employs the troops to pro- 



"law-and-order" men, etc. 369 

tect the assassins. Such is dragoon government in Kan- 
sas. It leaves the free-state people exposed to all outrages; 
and when they would assert their rights, and take care of 
themselves by driving out the ruffians, the dragoons protect 
them by orders of the governor. Gov. Shannon has said, 
repeatedly, that the state "prisoners, if charged, would be 
tried; if tried, convicted; and, if convicted, hung." Judge 
Lecompte has made similar statements. Woodson has 
said, "they did not expect there would be a trial, but they 
meant to keep them imprisoned." 

W. P. Fain, who acted as deputy marshal in arresting 
Judge Smith and G. W. Deitzler, was in camp the other 
day. While talking of the Toombs bill, the prisoners 
stated "that they had no confidence in the President ap- 
pointing men who would take the census fairly." He 
replied, "I would do it." 

When the}' asked him, "if he was to be one of the com- 
missioners," he replied in the affirmative, thus showing the 
whole matter to have been arranged before Stringfellow 
went to Washington. There was a heavy shower a few 
nights since. Our tent being the poorest shelter from rain 
of all, Capt. Sackett urged us to sleep in one of his; but 
we preferred sta5'ing in our own. When the storm came, 
the wind was terrible. The rain came through in streams, 
and little lakes were standing in every hollow on the bed. 
At this unpleasant juncture, the captain sent down an 
India-rubber blanket, and, by removing the wet ones, no 
one suffered very severely. Towards morning, a heavy 
wind tore up a part of the stakes, and a drenching rain 
came full upon us. There was not a dr}' spot on the bed, 
and no more sleep for us. We had, however, a hearty 
laugh with Capt. Sackett, for the tent he had kindly as- 
signed us was prostrate; the only one which had been so 
essentially affected by the storm. 

Jist. — A man by the name of LeHays, active in the 
plundering of Lawrence, has boasted much of the spoils 
which fell to his share — 'Silverware, ladies' apparel, besides 

24 



370 KANSAS. 

guns. On the night of the i8th his house was entered by 
a party of men, and the guns were taken. Gov. Shannon 
is much excited about it. He says they were men from 
Lawrence and vicinity, and reports the house generally 
plundered. A strong guard was forthwith set around 
Lecompton. On the 20th, Cramer, the deputy marshal, 
came to camp, and ordered Capt. Sackett not to allow any 
person to converse with the prisoners privately. "His 
responsibility, since the sacking of Lawrence, in regard to 
the prisoners, had weighed upon him much." But Capt. 
Sackett at once informed him, "he need give himself no 
further trouble on the subject, as the responsibility of their 
safe-keeping rested upon him." The little fellow appeared 
pleased; but his wrath was only pent up. He met a man, 
soon after leaving camp, and poured it forth in execrations 
upon the captain, declaring that "Robinson was more the 
governor of the territory than Shannon;" that "the pris- 
oners should be taken from Capt. Sackett's charge, and 
that their lives would not be safe an hour." On the 21st 
the little deputy came again, with a letter from Gov. 
Shannon, in which he advised that "persons and letters be 
not allowed to go into camp; that the territory had never 
been in so bad a condition; that he believed the prisoners 
were implicated in these disturbances, and in great meas- 
ure the occasion of them." Cramer, at the captain's tent, 
also said, "The governor don't know what to do." He 
talked so loudly, it was quite impossible not to hear what 
was said. It will be remembered that only two days had 
passed since the governor had been informed, that, if such 
outrages as that of Titus continued, the people would try 
to suppress them. Word was returned to the governor 
from Capt. Sackett that "he had his orders from Col. 
Sumner to give up the prisoners to the civil authorities, if 
unnecessary restrictions were placed upon them." Gov. 
Shannon immediatel}' sent to Capt. Sackett, that "he did 
not know he had orders from Col. Sumner, but, if he had, 
of course he must obey them. " He swore, however, "he 



"law-and-order" men, etc. 371 

would see if he could not make Capt. Sackett obe}' orders," 
and sent an express to Gen. Smith at the fort. Gen. Smith 
proposed not to interfere in matters in the territory, and, 
no change being made in the treatment of the prisoners, 
the governor was disappointed, and unable to carry out his 
threats. On the 19th he was heard to say, as at many 
other times, that "Gov. Robinson would be hung." 

A wagon of provisions for Palmyra was robbed at West- 
port a few days since, and, on the 22d, Mr. P., a da- 
guerrean of Lawrence, was nearly killed about a mile 
from town, by three men from Franklin. He was fired 
upon, and so badly wounded by their jumping upon his 
body, that he was very ill, and it is feared will never 
recover. Several bowie-knives were found in the grass 
next day. Major Sedgwick protected Titus only one night, 
and removed his camp about a fourth of a mile from Capt. 
Sackett's camp. Then Titus gathered about him a gang 
of desperadoes like himself. Major Richardson is reported 
to have gone up north to intercept emigrants coming into 
the territorj'. Three men from Lecompton have been to 
see Capt. Samuel Walker, of the free-state forces. They 
desTre all matters amicabl}' adjusted. There is talk of 
vigilance committees of equal numbers, free-state men and 
pro-slavery, to tr}' offenders. Gov. Shannon has expressed 
himself in favor of letting the territorial laws go, as the 
House has admitted free Kansas. Woodson is very 
strongly opposed. 

A few days since, a free-state man, in Lecompton, was 
ordered out of town by Wm. Donaldson. The people 
there, effectually frightened at the turn affairs are taking, 
returned the compliment, ordering Donaldson to leave 
town. They immediately had a circular printed, inviting 
people into their town, and promising them safety. 

Mr. Wilson and daughter, from South Carolina, were in 
camp a little time on the 21st. They were strangers in the 
territory. When Mr. Wilson returned to Lawrence, he 
refused to pay the four dollars for the team, which he 



372 KANSAS. 

promised, on taking it. Chapman, one of the Shawnee 
council, declared he would have the one dollar still retained 
by Mr. Wilson, and the next morning, as Mr. Wilson was 
going to Westport in the stage, Chapman asked him again 
for the money. Upon his refusing, Chapman struck him 
on the head with a heavy stick. After the wound was 
dressed, against the advice of others, he continued his 
journey to Westport, and died soon after reaching there. 
Chapman was examined before a justice at Lecompton, 
and released on bail, $3,500. Sam Salters and Haney were 
his bondsmen, both notorious for their villainy, and pecu- 
niarily irresponsible. The bail asked in the case of Evans, 
free-state, by an impartial ///justice, at Lecompton, was 
$5,000, and in the case of young Doy, also free-state, 
taken on charge of horse-stealing, no bail could be admit- 
ted. Chapman has also been notorious for his threats 
against the lives of several of the citizens of Lawrence. 

All kinds of vegetables have been bountifully supplied 
to the prisoners for many weeks by their friends. In some 
cases they have brought of the first fruits of their fields. 
Wild grapes and apples are growing plenty now. To- 
day some gentlemen, concert-singers, brought their me- 
lodeon and sang to us. It made quite a variety in camp 
life. 

August. — The first Sunday in August we had preaching 
in camp. Mr. Nute and a large number of people, came 
from Lawrence. As many as possible sat under the pavil- 
ion, while others occupied the carriages. The officers and 
soldiers attended, and all together we made a goodly num- 
ber. A melodeon was also brought up from town, Major 
D. S. Hoyt brought a large number of beautiful pond lilies, 
which, at his suggestion, were placed on the table, before 
the preacher. 

On the first day of August, Fain was in Lawrence at- 
tempting to assess taxes. He was waited upon by a com- 
.nittee, and recommended to leave. A very intelligent 
iady, Mrs. Heath, recently from Delaware, visited us in 



"law-and-order" men, etc. 373 

camp. The camp of the invading horde in May was close 
by her liouse, and from their brutal conduct she suffered 
much. One of the captains of the gang has since apolo- 
gized to her, saying, "that if his mother in Virginia knew 
in what company he had been, or what he had been doing, 
she would grieve herself to death." She had recently 
buried a little daughter, who, in the first of her illness, 
was constantly saying, "Mama, don't let the Kickapoos 
shoot me." She thinks fear was the occasion of the child's 
death. These men were cursing and swearing about their 
house nights, and firing their guns in the day-time, so that 
the balls whizzed past her. When asked by her "if they 
had commands to disturb peaceable houses on the Sab- 
bath day," they replied, "they had orders to go where they 
chose, and when they chose; they were here by President 
Pierce's authority, and acting under the direction of Gov. 
Shannon." It is said in Lecompton to be the plan of the 
ruffians to kill the prisoners on the da}' of the trials. Pro- 
slavery men from the same place stated, that, on the 5th, 
Jones, Clark and Titus, were urging the governor to call 
out the "militia," for further outrages. Word had been 
received from Col. Boone, of Westport, that "now was the 
time to drive out the free-state men." Shannon had sworn 
he would not call out the "militia" again, and the above 
named "law-and-order" men threatened to put him in the 
river, and were holding a secret session as to the course to 
be pursued. On the 6th news came of Gov. Shannon's 
removal. 

Robberies on the Westport road are becoming more fre- 
quent. Preparatory to the expected passage of the Toombs 
bill, many Missourians and Southerners have been coming 
into the territory. They have not taken claims and bmilt 
houses upon them, but have built forts and stocked them 
with provisions and munitions of war. It all looked like a 
war of extermination, and preparations for a general siege, 
although many Missourians had said they were coming in to 
vote. The principal head-quarters for the invaders were 



374 KANSAS. 

the fort near Osawatomie, one on Washington Creek, at 
Franklin, and the house of Col. Titus. From the latter, 
beyond a high hill just north of our camp, morning 
and evening, we heard the report of fire-arms, as his gang 
were firing at a mark. Depredations being committed by 
the men at all these places, it was decided to drive them 
out. About the eighth, a party of free-state men reached 
the fort on Sugar Creek, but Dame Rumor had flown in 
advance of it, and the fort was vacated. The invaders had 
gone back to their homes in Missouri, leaving a load of 
flour, sugar, hams, etc. The flour and sugar were taken, 
while the bacon was burned with the fort. 

Several of the free-state scouts to the upper country have 
returned. They report the emigrants making roads, and 
bridging streams. Some of the scouts went through to 
Iowa. The reports of emigrants being intercepted by 
Missourians were false. There are over four hundred emi- 
grants on the way. The train is more than a mile and a 
quarter long. Such a body of men looked formidable to 
the spies of the enemy, and they returned to report larger 
numbers. 

The people at Lecompton are exceedingly alarmed for 
the safety of their town. For a week or two they have 
been so worn out, keeping a nightly guard, that they have 
hired a guard, paying each man two dollars a night. At 
several different times they have been awakened in the 
night by a courier going in with the false report of the free- 
state men close at hand. Early on the morning of the 
I2th, Titus sent in word that he had seen one hundred and 
seventy-five free-state horsemen approaching the town, 
which at once created a panic. On the night of the 13th, 
we heard firing in the direction of Lawrence, and before 
sunrise the next morning, an express was sent to Major 
Sedgwick. As he rode in by our tent, the sentinel hailed 
him with, "What news?" His reply was, "War! war!" 

The free state men made an attack upon a building in 
Franklin. It was the same building that was stormed in 



"law-and-order" men, etc. 375 

the little battle of the 4th of June, but, as a block-house, 
had been considerably strengthened since then. It was 
the first station of the Georgians beyond Westport, and con- 
tained, besides a quantity of small arms, a twelve-pounder 
brass cannon, which had been brought into the territory in 
May. They called upon those in the block-house to sur- 
render, before firing at all. After three hours' brisk firing, 
the free-state men, having one man killed and several 
wounded, drew a wagon load of burning hay against the 
building when the cry for "quarter" was heard. The hay 
was soon drawn away, and the occupants of the fort threw 
down their arms and fled. The guns and cannon were 
taken by the free-state men. 

It was found impossible to compel the surrender of those 
in the block-house by firing at it with rifles, so the expedi- 
ent of placing a load of hay against the building and setting 
it on fire was adopted. It was considered a dangerous 
experiment to try, as those who drew the load, // xcas sup- 
posed, would be exposed to the fire of the enemy. Caleb S. 
Pratt, S. N. Simpson, Reuben Randall, S. C. Russell and 
S. C. Smith were of the number who drew the load and 
set the hay on fire. 

The cannon captured was known afterwards as the 
"Sacramento." Capt. Bickerton used it at the attack on 
Titus' cabin, a few days after, firing balls from it made 
from the type of the Herald of Freedom. The Sacramento 
gave the free-state men the victory at the attack on Titus' 
cabin. 

Mr. Amos A. Lawrence, of Boston, wrote to Mr. S. N. 
Simpson, inquiring the names of the men who went with 
the load of hay, and sent to each one a certificate for one 
share of stock in the Emigrant Aid Co. 

The immediate occasion of the attack at Franklin at that 
time, was the sad news of the murder of Major D. S. Hoyt, 
which had been received that day. 

For some time the settlers along the Wakarusa, and near 
Washington Creek, had been much harassed by Georgians 



376 KANSAS. 

at that fort. Their threats of extermination of the free- 
state settlers were repeated!}' heard, and robberies by them 
were of frequent occurrence. The settlers had sent mes- 
sengers to Lawrence, and other points, at different times, 
asking help. Several appeals had been made to the troops, 
but Major Sedgwick declined doing anything, as he had no 
authority to act. 

On the eleventh and twelfth, messengers were again sent 
to him, asking him to do something quickly for the protec- 
tion of the settlers in that region. He had been informed 
by Capt. Anderson, of the troops, whose company during 
the summer had recruited some of Buford's men, that the 
camp was a peaceable one, and he so stated to the gentle- 
men from Lawrence. At the request of the people of 
Lawrence, Major Hoyt went out to the camp. He was 
most brutally' murdered by the Georgians, his body being 
riddled with bullets. Major Hoyt was an efficient aid to 
the free-state cause, and was universally esteemed. 

Major Hoyt's last conversation with friends was with the 
"treason prisoners." He had brought me flowers that morn- 
ing. To draw my attention to his presence, he had said, 
*T am knocking, Mrs. Robinson." We talked a little, 
and he went in to bid the prisoners good-by, and started 
upon his fatal mission. 

This outrage aroused the free-state men yet more to the 
necessity of breaking up the stronghold of these barbar- 
ians; and on the afternoon of the 15th, the fort on Wash- 
ington Creek was burned. The fort was strongly garrisoned 
and provisioned, and contained many articles taken at the 
siege of Lawrence. Without striking a blow the Georgians 
fled. In the night, Titus' band was out, as usual, stealing 
horses. They had taken three, when they came upon the 
advance guard of the free-state men. Titus, seeing the 
numbers upon which he had fallen, fled, they following 
but a little way, and taking one or two prisoners. 

About sunrise the next morning, the i6th, firing was 
heard near our tents, and one of the cannon|balls whizzed 



"law-and-order" men, etc. 377 

past us. Two or three horsemen were standing upon a 
high hill, a half a mile distant, apparently watching the 
troops in camp. A heavy shower came up; the rain poured 
in torrents. Our breakfast had been set upon the table, 
but the frail cloth overhead was like a sieve, and each of 
us caught some of the dishes, and ran into the nearest tent. 
A messenger from Gov. Shannon had come to Major Sedg- 
wick's camp. The bugle-call had sounded, and the troops 
were soon on their way to Lecompton. At the moment 
the troops started, the horsemen on the hill disappeared. 
As we sat in a little tent, a la Turquc, eating our breakfast, 
with our plates in our laps, one of the "traitors" looking 
out, said, "Titus' house is on fire. The black smoke is 
rising over the hill," 

A little time passed, and a wagon, with a lady and sev- 
eral children, of various shades of color, came to Captain 
Sackett for protection. It was Mrs. Woodson and her 
household, who, fearful, had fled from their house, one-half 
mile distant from Titus'. When Lieut. Carr reached Le- 
compton, in accordance with Major Sedgwick's orders, 
Gov. Shannon was nowhere to be found. It was only after 
repeated inquiries, he received the reply, "You may find 
him by the river." Going there, he found the executive 
getting into the scow to go across the river. How one's 
imagination brings up the picture of Caisar crossing the 
Rubicon! As he returned with Lieut. Carr, and met 
Major Sedgwick at the point designat€d, he was asked 
"what were his orders." 

He replied, "I don't think I will have anything done 
with them; but we will go and see if they have disturbed 
Major Clarke" (the murderer). The four hundred free- 
state men, going over the prairie on their way back to 
Lawrence, looked too formidable to the pusillanimous gov- 
ernor. Major Clarke's residence was found deserted, the 
doors wide open, furniture left as just used, and everything 
betraying that some great fear had driven them from their 
homes. The fright and confusion at Lecompton were ter- 



378 KANSAS. 

rible. Any way to get over the river seemed to be the 
desideratum; many even, in their haste, jumped in to swim 
over. Coh Titus and eighteen men were taken prisoners. 
Among them was Wm. Donaldson, who had been my hus- 
band's guard on his way from Lexington. Titus had sev- 
eral prisoners in his house, — men just arrived in the terri- 
tory. The order of the previous evening had been to shoot 
one of them that morning. 

Some of the type of the Herald of Freedom office had 
been taken from the Kaw, and melted into slugs. These 
were used to load the cannon in the attack upon Titus' 
stronghold. At the first fire, the cannoneer, Capt. T. 
Bickerton, cried, "This is the second edition of the Herald 
of Freedom." 

The prisoners were taken to Lawrence. The next day, 
Sunday, the 17th, Maj. Sedgwick, Gov. Shannon and Dr. 
Rodrigue, of Lecompton, went to Lawrence to make a 
treaty. The two latter were ready to make terms anyhow. 
They trembled like aspen leaves for fear. Gov. Shannon's 
second treaty with the people of Lawrence was concluded. 
The five free-state men arrested after the attack at Frank- 
lin, under the bogus laws, and the howitzer taken from 
Lawrence in May, were to be exchanged for Titus and his 
band. There were also to be no more arrests under the 
territorial laws. 

Gov. Shannon made a speech, in which he stated "he 
wished to set himself right, before the people of Lawrence; 
that he desired peace and harmony for the few days of his 
continuance in office;" and concluded by saying, "and the 
few days that I remain in office shall be devoted, so help 
me heaven, in carrying out faithfully my part of the agree- 
ment, and in preserving order." 

Capt. Shombre, just arrived from Indiana, of the free- 
state party, was mortally wounded, but his expressed sen- 
timent was "Willingly I yield my life for freedom." When 
they told him of the treaty, like Wolfe, he said, "I die 
happy." He died, much regretted by our people, on the 



"law-and-order" men, etc. 379 

evening of the 17th, The treaty was carried into effect the 
next day. Titus and Donaldson begged most piteously for 
their lives. It was humiliating to see men, who had no 
mercy for any who fell into their power, yet beg so humbly 
for their own lives. They said "they would go to their old 
homes, and would never strike another blow for slavery in 
Kansas." 

But Titus, safely in Lecompton again, has sworn ven- 
geance. He was badly wounded in the shoulder and hand, 
and one of his men was killed. Dr. Rodrigue and family 
passed down to Westport on the iSth, on their way to 
Virginia. Judge Elmore, with his family and slaves, left 
the territory the same day. Gov. Shannon asked for a 
military escort out of the territory, but was told the people 
would call him a coward in truth. The difference in men 
fighting for their homes and lives, and their oppressors, 
has been clearly marked in this contest. Fear has been 
the daily and nightly portion of the people of Lecompton 
since their attack upon Lawrence. Now, when their gangs 
of desperadoes have been routed in three or four positions, 
the panic has become general, and the leading men of the 
pro-slavery party remove their families from the territory. 
Women leave their homes to ask protection of military 
commanders, and pro-slavery towns beg a dragoon guard. 

Gov. Shannon, immediately after the treaty at Law- 
rence, sent for all the troops in the fort. When asked by 
one of the military officers what was the message he sent, 
he said "he did not know, as he had sent his papers, 
among which was the copy of his letter to Gen. Smith, by 
his son, to Westport." Wholly different from this was the 
course of the men and women of Lawrence. Calmly they 
looked upon the devastation, and awaited the hour when 
God would avenge them. People upon claims, close by 
the ruffians' camp, remained at their homes. Faith in the 
final upholding of justice was their shield. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

NEW INVASION RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 

On the 19th of August another most brutal murder was 
committed near Leavenworth. A gentleman named Hopps, 
from Griggsville, 111., only six days in the territory, was 
shot and scalped by a man named Fugert, who belongs to 
Atchison's ruffian band encamped near Leavenworth. He 
had made a bet of six dollars against a pair of boots, that 
in less than two hours he w^ould have an abolitionist's scalp. 
He returned to Leavenworth, received the boots, and ex- 
hibited the scalp as a token of his prowess. 

Mr. Hopps hired a house in Leavenworth, intending to 
locate there. He then brought his wife to Lawrence, to 
remain a few days with her sister, Mrs. Nute, wife of the 
Unitarian clergyman. Upon his return, within two miles 
of Leavenworth, the horrid deed was committed. It will 
be remembered that Fort Leavenworth, where United 
States troops are stationed, is only three miles distant. A 
German, who spoke freely of the atrocity of the deed, was 
shot upon the spot. 

A day or two after, a young free-state lady, of Blooming- 
ton, was carried from her home a mile and a half, by four 
ruffians, her tongue drawn out of her mouth as far as pos- 
sible, and cords tied tightly around it. Her arms were 
pinioned, and she was otherwise so wantonly abused, that 
for days her life was despaired of. 

On the twenty-first, Woodson, declaring the territory in 
a state of insurrection, called out the militia. For several 
days Woodson, Jones, and others, at Lecompton, had been 



NEW INVASION RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 381 

trying to induce Gov. Shannon to resign his office, as he 
would not call out the militia, that Woodson might do it. 
The ruffians were very loud in their praises of him, saying, 
''he was just the governor they wanted." The plan was to 
have a general war of extermination before Gov. Geary 
could arrive. Gov. Shannon, most urgently solicited, at 
length resigned, the morning of the day his papers of dis- 
missal came from Washington. He again asked for an 
escort from the territory; but the military officer declined, 
upon the plea that the free-state men had asked for an 
escort upon the same road, stating it was unsafe for them 
to travel, being infested by pro-slavery camps. The ex- 
governor's angry retort was, '"Then, by G— d, I'll fight my 
way through!" 

On the twenty-second, a party of Georgians made a 
descent upon the Quaker Mission in the Shawnee Reserve, 
plundering it of horses and other property, while they 
treated the people with barbarity. 

On the twenty-third it was ascertained that Atchison's 
force, numbering four hundred and fifty men, were muster- 
ing at Little Santa Fe, on the border of Missouri, and 
about thirty-five miles from Lawrence, preparatory to an- 
other invasion of the territory. At Lawrence there were 
about two thousand people, men, women, and children, 
There was great scarcity of provisions, and not twenty 
sacks of flour in the whole town. People from the Big 
Stranger Creek, about half way between Lawrence and 
Leavenworth, had been driven from their claims, and in 
some instances both men and women had been most bar- 
barously treated. It was considered unsafe to send teams 
for provisions past the camps of the rviffians. The route to 
Kansas City was also blockaded. Three times an escort 
had been asked of the highest officer in command, out of 
the fort, and three times been refused. 

On the 24th of August, five of the citizens of Lawrence 
called upon Woodson. They found him in the tent of the 
officers in command of the troops. The committee stated 



382 KANSAS. 

that the people of Lawrence were out of provisions, that 
their roads were blockaded by armed mobs. They asked 
whether he intended to allow this overwhelming force to 
murder, burn, and pillage? He replied, "if the people of 
Lawrence would obey the laws, this thing (meaning the 
invasion) could be settled in five hours." C. W. Babcock 
then said. "Governor, are we to understand that your posi- 
tion is this: that if we obey the bogus laws, you will pro- 
tect us with the whole force under your command (meaning 
the troops), and, if not, you will allow us to be murdered? 
Is that your position?" Woodson replied. '"The laws must 
be obeyed, and writs executed." The committee concluded 
that they must depend wholly upon the strength of the free- 
state men, if Lawrence was attacked. \'olunteers were 
continually arriving, and Lawrence again looked warlike. 
The forts built last winter were repaired, and new ones 
were built. \\'heat and hay were carried in so near town 
that they could not be destroyed by the marauders. The 
wheat was ground as a substitute for fine flour, and many 
cattle were driven in near town. A strong guard was again 
placed around the town, while the scouting guard were on 
duty miles away. It was estimated that in twelve hours' 
time from fifteen hundred to two thousand men could be 
rallied to defend Lawrence. 

On the twenty-fifth, Col. Cooke, commandant at Fort 
Riley, arrived at the spot where Capt. Sackett was in charge 
of the state prisoners. He came with a large additional 
force, which numbered, with the companies called in from 
different parts of the territory, about five hundred troops. 
They had five pieces of artillery, and. as they came in over 
the hills to our quiet little camp, they looked quite form- 
idable. The care of the prisoners at once devolved upon 
Col. Cooke. He manifested the responsibility he felt by 
putting on an extra guard, with another to stand by to 
listen to conversation when any company was in the tents. 
Capt. Sackett. with thirty-five men. had found, for seven 
weeks, one guard all-sufficient for the protection of the 



NEW INVASION RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 383 

prisoners. Col. Cooke, with five hundred, must have felt 
strangely insecure. 

On the twenty-seventh, Mr. Nute, with his widowed 
sister-in-law, and John Wilder, a trader of Lawrence, with 
a number of teams for provisions, started for Leavenworth. 
They had been advised by the military commanders to 
attempt this journey. When near Leavenworth the whole 
party were captured by a band of ruffians under Capt. 
Emory. The body of Mr. Hopps had been buried, by the 
troops, in Pilot Knob cemetery, and his widow was denied 
the consolation of looking upon his grave. After continued 
refusals by the ruffians, she at last succeeded in getting on 
board a boat bound down the Missouri. The others were 
retained as prisoners of war, and untold anxiety was felt 
for their safety. 

\Mien this intelligence reached Lawrence, G. W. Hutch- 
inson, one of the merchants whose wagons had been taken, 
and ^Ir. Sutherland, the mail-carrier between Lawrence 
and Leavenworth, whose hack and driver were of the same 
number, were dispatched to Woodson, also to Col. Cooke, 
to inform them of the facts. Col. Cooke could not move 
with his troops to Leavenworth without orders from \\'ood- 
son. He advised these gentlemen to see Woodson. They 
went to Lecompton, and while in his office were taken 
prisoners by his brutal •"militia," he offering no word of 
protest. When Col. Cooke heard of this unprecedented 
outrage, he sent again and again to Woodson, demanding 
their release. His invariable reply was, "They were taken 
as spies, and we hold them as prisoners of war." 

The same day eighty of the troops went to Lawrence 
under command of Deputy Marshal Newsem, who had 
rendered himself conspicuous by breaking open and 
searching the trunks of five free-state men on the road a few 
days before. He had a writ of replevin for a horse, and a 
writ of habeas corpus for a man who had been detained at 
Lawrence over night as a spy, but who had been released 
the same morning. He read his writ, signed by John P. 



384 KANSAS. 

Wood, Judge of Probate for Douglas County. It was 
directed to '-James H. Lane," ''the Safety Committee," 
and the people of "Lawrence generally." There was too 
large a share of the ridiculous in this parade of troops on 
so trivial a matter to occasion any show of dignity among 
the people at Lawrence, So the free-state boys laughed 
with the soldiers, and made sport of the simpleton who 
held the writ. When they left, the boys gave three cheers 
for the troops, and a groan for the official. 

On the thirtieth, Saturday morning, about six o'clock, 
Frederic Brown, son of Capt. John Brown, walking on the 
road near his house, not far from Osawatomie, was shot by 
Rev. ^lartin \\'hite. His house had been raided and rob- 
bed by old Brown and his gang, and he had been driven 
out of the territory. Fred was riding one of his stolen 
horses at the time he was killed. (No other son of John 
Brown's was ever killed until they sought their doom at 
Harper's Ferry. ) Two hours later, aforce'of two hundred 
and fifty men under Gen. Reed attacked Osawatomie, 
Seeing the vast superiority of the numbers, Capt. Brown 
retreated with the small free-state party under his com- 
mand, between thirty and forty men, to the timber on the 
river. The battle lasted several hours, until the ammunition 
of the little party gave out. They were then ordered to 
retreat to the river. The Missourians charged upon them 
with horses, and, being wholly undisciplined, came up in 
crowds, so that the sure aim of the little band in the woods 
thinned their ranks. The free-state party lost two men 
killed in the battle; one man murdered afterwards. As 
nearly as could be estimated, the enemy lost two killed and 
thirty-two wounded. Two wagon loads of wounded, and 
ten wagon loads of plunder were taken from Osawatomie. 
After the battle the ruffians burned the town, between 
twenty and thirty houses and stores (only four houses were 
left unburned), and pilfered letters from the post-office, etc. 
They burned, also, the house of "Ottawa Jones," who had 
a fine residence half way between Lawrence and Osawato- 



NEW INVASION RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 385 

mie. This news being I'eceived at Lawrence, Gen. Lane 
with a strong force went out to meet Reid's army. He 
came near them at Bull Creek, and camped for a battle 
at sunrise on the morrow. In the night Reid's army re- 
treated, and Gen. Lane drove them to Missouri. 

This portion of the invaders had intended to march 
nearer Lawrence, and attack it upon one side, expecting to 
be reinforced by other parties gathered at Lecompton. 

On the thirty-first, Sunday, p. m., Mrs. Hamilton, resid- 
ing a mile distant from the camp, came and reported to 
Col. Cooke that some ruffians from Lecompton had gathered 
at her house, with threats to destroy it. He sent four sol- 
diers back with her to guard it. After their arrival the 
party left. Mrs. Hamilton gathered together some of her 
goods, and three small wagon loads were brought to her 
mother's near the camp. Some of the soldiers returned 
with the wagons. Soon after they started with the last 
load, about one hundred and fifty of these Missourians, 
under the lead of Dr. Stringfellow, appeared, and set the 
house on fire. They at first took the gun from the one 
soldier then there, but soon returned it. A few of them 
surrounded the wagon, and • "ordered a surrender." But 
the woman with her escort came on to the camp. Soon 
the dense smoke arose over the hill, and the Missourians 
came up in sight of the camp, and formed in line of battle 
upon a very high point only a quarter of a mile distant. 
It looked like a defiance to the troops. Col. Cooke with his 
ofticers stood by his tent, with a spy-glass, watching them. 
He was evidently surprised at the boldness of the move- 
ment. 

Soon the bugle sounded for "boots and saddles," and 
the soldiers, with loud shouts, and on a full run, started 
for the horses. They thought they were to have the op- 
portunity of driving off the Missourians. The colonel, be- 
ing a Southerner, was annoyed by the shouting, and com- 
manded them to be quiet. The Missourians soon left the 
hill, and the soldiers had their rcj^ular Sundav drill. 



386 KANSAS. 

In a little time two more houses, a short distance away, 
were fired. Before sundown Deputy Marshal Cramer rode 
up to the officers' tent to say, that "the houses were set on 
fire by free-state men." Col. Cooke quite indignantly re- 
plied, "I saw the smoke of the fire, as your men rode from 
it on to the hill." 

The evening of the next day, five other houses of the 
settlers were burned, and another, around which the mob 
gathered, was saved by the lady of the house showing a 
paper which Marshal Donaldson had given them as a 
means of protection during the spring invasion. Most of 
the fires were seen at the camp. Some of the houses had 
been vacated, the families having gone to Lawrence for 
safety. The occupants of others were driven from their 
homes at midnight, only escaping with their lives. One 
woman, Mrs. Sam \\'alker, with a number of young chil- 
dren, whose husband could not remain with his family in 
safety, saved a few things by carrying them into the woods. 
The next day the house near the camp was full of these 
homeless ones. There were families without their natural 
protectors, because they had been previously driven from 
their homes. There were men. whose families had been 
removed to Lawrence a few days before, while they had 
remained at their houses attempting to get their goods 
ready to move, when they were obliged to fly. No free- 
state men could now travel between Lawrence and Le- 
compton. The man who carried meat to the camp daily 
was taken prisoner by Stringfellow and his scouting party, 
and retained in camp over night, notwithstanding he 
showed his contract with the quartermaster. 

2d. — "Gen. Strickler, " of the territorial militia, with 
Cramer, called on Col. Cooke. Cramer introduced the 
general. Col. Cooke seemed to thinki it militated against 
his own dignity somewhat to be "ranked" by such a strip- 
ling, and he replied. "General?" Cramer said, "Yes," 
and the usual courtesies passed between them. Then Cra- 
mer said, "We want you to hold yourself in readiness to 



NEW INVASION RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 387 

act when called upon; for there may a contingency arise 
when we shall need you." He also added that "Lane was 
cavorting around the territory." 

Mrs. Jenkins, with a military escort, went to Lawrence 
on the second of the month, for provisions for the priso- 
ners. Upon her return, the next day, she passed through 
the most of the "territorial militia," about six miles from 
Lawrence. They were very free with their threats of the 
destruction of Lawrence; and swore it would be accom- 
plished that night. Mrs. Jenkins met several free-state 
men, flying as fast as their horses would carry them, to 
notify Lawrence of the approach of the invaders. One of 
their scouts was sitting quietly in a ravine, eating a water- 
melon, before he noticed this force almost upon him. 
Quickly mounting his horse, he sped towards Lawrence, 
while four of the invaders pursued him. continuall)' firing. 
Three of the pursuers soon relinquished the chase, and he 
was able to outstrip the speed of the fourth. 

Dr. Stringfellow was in bad repute with the other officers, 
as well as with the men. Many of them left when they 
found that house-burning was to be the principal work. 
One or two of the captains, on learning the true state of 
things, immediately left Lecompton. returning over the 
river. 

On the fourth, Marshal Donaldson, and his deputies, 
Cramer and Newsem, took one hundred and sixty of the 
troops to Lawrence to arrest Lane, Walker, Grover, and 
others. They came back wholly unsuccessful. It seemed 
to be the impression at Lawrence that Lane was not a resi- 
dent there, and the particular location of the house or 
boarding-place of others inquired for was not very clearly 
defined in the minds of those questioned. 

The same day three men from Leavenworth, who had 
never taken any part in the free-state cause, attempted to 
go from Leavenworth to Lawrence. They were shot by 
the ruffians. Two were killed, and the other was supposed 
to be dead by the cruel men. With his head awfully 



3S8 KANSAS. 

mangled, by the aid of a Delaware Indian, he reached 
Lawrence. Sicoxie, chief of the Delawares, on the 4th, 
sent to the camp for troops to protect them from the con- 
tinual robberies and de predations of the marauders. Capt. 
Sackett, with his company, was sent out. The bodies of 
the two murdered men were buried by them. 

On the same day one hundred and fifty men were ordered 
to cross the Kansas river, and march upon the north side 
as far as Lecompton. They arrived at this point about 
dark. Colonel Harvey so arranged his men that it would 
have been impossible for a much larger force than his to 
retreat past them. They lay all night upon their arms, in 
one of the most violent storms of the season, hungry and 
supperless. The confusion, the next morning, in Lecomp- 
ton, w'as vmprecedented even there. Many of the Missou- 
rians, who had come to quell '-outrages and disturbances 
by the abolitionists" upon the pro-slavery settlers, finding 
these acts perpetrated by the --law-and-order" party, were 
disgusted and sick of "the wars." Wishing to go home to 
Missouri, they found their retreat cut off. About four 
o'clock, p. M. , Gen. Lane had taken possession of the hill 
overlooking Lecompton, and the foundation of the capitol, 
which was used by the enemy as a fortress. He had 
planted two pieces of artillery, before any intimation had 
been given in Lecompton of the approach of "Lane's 
army." 

Three messengers from Lecompton, to Col. Cooke, fol- 
lowed each other in quick succession. They reported one 
thousand men about to attack Lecompton. There was soon 
an unusual stir in the camp. The different bugles sound- 
ed, and, in just thirty-five minutes after, the troops began 
to move towards Lecompton; not in a body, but at the 
earliest moment each company was ready. The artillery 
went out, mingling its deafening sound of heavy metal 
'.vith that of iron hoofs, and the clanking of the sabres of 
their riders. 

Mr. Branscomb and Capt. Cline had been deputed by 



NEW INVASION RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 389 

Gen. Lane to go into Lecompton and make a demand of 
all the prisoners there. They rode in, bearing a flag of 
truce, and halted before the fort. The following conver- 
sation was held: 

Mr. Branscomb: "Who has command of the forces 
here assembled?" 

Several voices: "General Richardson." 

"Can I see General Richardson?" 

Here General Richardson stepped forward and bowed. 

"General Richardson, are you in command of the forces 
here assembled?" 

"Well, I don't know as I am." 

An individual here stepped forward, and inquired as 
follows: 

"General Richardson, do you still retain the command?" 

"No, 1 suppose not; I resigned this morning," was the 
reply. 

This individual then turned to Messrs. Branscomb and 
Cline, and said, "I am in command of the forces here 
assembled, and am ready to receive any proposition." 

Mr. Branscomb: "Who are you, sir?" 

Individual: "I am General IMarshall. " 

"I am directed by General Lane, commander of the free- 
state forces of Kansas, to demand of you the unconditional 
and immediate release of all the free-state prisoners now in 
Lecompton." 

General Marshall: "We wish to make no compromises 
with General Lane, only that he shall treat our prisoners 
as kindly and courteously as we treat his." 

"Do I understand you .to refuse to surrender the prison- 
ers demanded?" 

"Such is the understanding." 

Messrs. Branscomb and Cline were about to return to 
General Lane's lines, when General Marshall requested 
them to wait a few minutes. They did so. After a private 
consultation with some others, the general returned, and 
gave Mr. Branscomb the strange intelligence that all the 



390 KANSAS. 

prisoners demanded had been released that morning, and 
that provision had been made to obtain an escort of United 
States dragoons to attend them to Lawrence the next day. 
He then told him that he made a demand on General Lane 
for all the pro-slavery prisoners which had been taken, and 
asked Mr. Branscomb to state the demand. This ended 
the interview. I 

Colonel Cooke reached Lane's lines about the time the 
messengers to Lecompton got back. Colonel Cooke said 
to General Lane and his staff, "Gentlemen, you have made 
a great mistake in coming here to-day. The territorial 
militia was dismissed this morning; some of them have 
left, some are leaving now, and the rest will leave and go 
to their homes as soon as they can." IMr. Parrott. of 
Leavenworth city, who was twice sent down the river by 
the ruffians, replied to him as follows: "Colonel Cooke, 
when we send a man, or two men, or a dozen men. to speak 
with the territorial authorities, they are arrested and held 
like felons. How, then, are we to know what is going on 
in Lecompton? Why, we have come here with an army 
to find out what is going on. How else could wc know?" 
To this. Col. Cooke made no reply. 

The prisoners came over to the camp at evening, and, 
under military escort, went to Lawrence the next day. 
Gen. Richardson, of the ''Kansas militia," made a visit in 
Lawrence. He was received kindly by General Lane, who 
escorted him on his way to Franklin. He stated "he was 
on his way to disperse the Alissourians who were coming 
into the territory." 

A lady from Leavenworth, about this time, having a 
brother at Lawrence, succeeded in getting through to the 
latter place. She walked the entire distance, thirty-five 
miles, and, by prudence, eluded the watchfulness of the 
enemy. 

For some weeks mob-law had raged at Leavenworth. 
Hordes of the vilest of the Missourians were continually 
crossing the river into the city. On the first of September 



NEW IXVASIOX RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 3gi 

a municipal election was to be held. Capt. Emory, the 
mail agent, at the head of one hundred ruffians, drove from 
the city all free-state men, declaring that "all who did not 
leave should be killed." 

They attacked the house of William Phillips, from Pitts- 
field, Mass., a lawyer of Leavenworth. Knowing that it 
was their intention to murder him, he told them "he should 
defend his home;" and, as they rushed upon him, he drew 
his revolver and killed tw^o of them, when he was pierced 
with a dozen bullets, and died instantly. The brother of 
]\Ir. Phillips had his arm badly shattered. Some buildings 
owned by Mr. Phillips were burned; also some others. On 
the Saturday before, and during the night, also, the excite- 
ment was intense. The groceries were continually fre- 
quented, and the firing of guns was incessant. All of 
Sunday night companies of thirty or forty men went over 
the whole city, crying, at the top of their voices, for "all 
who would not take up arms to enforce the territorial laws, 
to leave the territory immediately, or suffer the conse- 
quences." 

On the first of September, about fifty of the inhabitants 
were obliged, by Capt. Emory and his band, to take pass- 
age on the Polar Star for St. Louis. The next day eight 
hundred men, commanded by Capt. Emory, paraded on 
the levee in front of the Emma. Capt. Emory ordered 
the captain of the boat not to leave the landing until he 
gave directions. Then, at the point of the bayonet, were 
men, women and children, more than one hundred in 
number, driven, like cattle, from their homes, to satisfy 
yet further this guilty administration. Men of property 
were obliged thus to leave it to the mercy of the mob; and, 
in some instances, had not means with them to pay their 
passage to St. Louis. The goods of some of the mer- 
chants, together with ten thousand dollars' worth in the 
warehouses, for traders in Lawrence, were confiscated by 
the ruffians. In many instances they laid aside their 
shabby and soiled garments, and were loud in their praise 



392 KANSAS 

of the excellent fits they found among the clothing designed 
for merchants in Lawrence. No free-state man dare ven- 
ture in the streets of Leavenworth. Many fled into the 
bushes and escaped to the fort. Thirty or more families 
found safety there. 

When the fourteen prisoners at Lecompton were released, 
Rev. Mr. Nute, and Mr. John Wilder, about whom great 
anxiety had been felt, were discovered not to be among them. 
Col. Cooke provided Mr. W'hitman, Mr. Sutherland, and 
Mr. Wilder, father of young Wilder, an escort, in Sergeant 
Car}', to go to Leavenworth to attempt their release, if 
they were there. Within a short distance of the town, 
after passing several picket guards, they were taken pris- 
oners by Capt. Emory's band. After a little consultation, 
the leaders concluded it was advisable to release Sergeant 
Cary. Riding post-haste, he reached the fort and stated 
the facts. Soon there was a bustle among the soldiers, 
and two hundred of them marched to Leavenworth. Two 
hours later, they returned, bringing in Capt. Emory's band 
of thirty horsemen, with the three gentlemen last taken 
prisoners in the rear. 

Mr. Nute and Mr. W^ilder had been released that morn- 
ing. They had been for a part of the time, imprisoned in 
a seven-by-nine stone building with grated windows. 
There was not an article of furniture in the room. 

In such a place^ without ventilation, with thirteen others, 
they were kept one day, without anything to eat from early 
morning until five o'clock p. u. Then, some dry bread and 
coffee were brought in. The prisoners said they could not 
eat without going into the fresh air; and, on being taken 
out doors, were scarcel}' able to stand from faintness. 

Gov. Geary arrived at the fort on the morning of the 
ninth. He was there when Sergeant Cary reported his 
seizure by the ruffians. He declared that peace should be 
restored; that every one who was not an actual settler 
should be driven out; and that the rights of all men should 
be protected. To some officials under government, with 



NEW INVASION RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 393 

whom he conversed on his way to the territory, he stated, 
as the urgent necessity for this peace, "the impossibility 
of carrying Pennsylvania for Buchanan without it." 

Rev. Mr. Nute and friends reached Lawrence on the 
evening of the loth. On the 6th September, Col. Cooke's 
camp moved within half a mile of Lecompton. On the 
eighth, a number of Xhe citizens of Lawrence came up to 
attend the trial of the state prisoners. No officer of the 
court could be found; neither judge, jury, clerk or marshal. 
The next day they appeared in Lecompton, and an attempt 
was made by the counsel for the government, C. H. Grover, 
to postpone the trials until April, alleging that the County 
of Douglas was in a state of insurrection, caused b}^ the 
introduction of large bodies of armed men, whose purpose 
was to resist the laws of the territory; that jurors and 
witnesses were prevented from attending court thereby. 

Mr. Branscomb and Mr. Parrott, counsel for the prison- 
ers, opposed the motion. Mr. Branscomb stated, the pris- 
oners had been ready for trial the last term. They were 
ready now, and, as a right, they demanded an immediate 
trial. Although no summonses had been issued to jurors 
or witnesses, there were jurors present who would answer 
to their names, and there was no evidence before the court 
of such insurrection as the counsel for the government had 
stated, etc. 

Mr. Grover, in reply, said, "he could bring any amount 
of proof of such insurrection. There was the Lo7ido)i Times. 
The London Times said that not only Kansas, but the whole 
country, was in a state of insurrection." 

Judge Lecompte overruled the motion, stating that there 
was not sufficient evidence before the court of such a state 
of insurrection as to deter witnesses and jurors from ap- 
pearing. 

The docket was then taken up. The first case called 
was, "The territory of Kansas against Charles Robinson, 
for usurpation of office." The same reasons for continu- 
ance of this case were brought up by Mr. Grover. Also 



394 KANSAS. 

their witness, P. Hutchinson, who, they said, had been 
summoned, was not present. He is a man unknown to the 
prisoners, their counsel or friends never before having 
heard of him. 

Judge Lecompte then gave his decision. He would 
continue the case on the ground of there being so great an 
excitement in the country as to prevent a fair trial. The 
prisoner was admitted to bail in the sum of five hundred 
dollars. 

The other cases were then called, — "The United States 
against Charles Robinson and others," — and continued. 
The prisoners were released on bail of five thousand dollars 
each. 

Judge Lecompte accepted the bail offered, and seemed 
anxious to get the cases off his hands. 

John Brown, Jr., and H. H. Williams, who had never 
been indicted, were also released on one thousand dollars 
bail. 

On the afternoon of the loth September, just four 
months from the day my husband was taken prisoner, and 
nearly four months since the arrest of the others, the tents 
on "Traitor Avenue" were struck Three wagons were 
filled with the furniture and valuables of the prisoners. 

While all were getting ready, a party of us rode into 
Lecompton. It is a little town down in the ravines. The 
air was hot and stifling, and we wondered any one should 
locate a town there, when the breezes on the high grounds 
are so fresh and invigorating. There were two or three 
tents still standing, the remnant of the invaders' camp. 
Everything was quiet, and perfectly dull. With two car- 
riages of gentlemen, which came from Lawrence in the 
morning to attend the court, the ambulance, and two others 
under military escort, we left for Lawrence. Within a mile 
of the town, on Mt. Oread, the "Stubs" were waiting to 
welcome us. Soon after, we were met by Gen. Lane and 
staff, who led the way into Massachusetts street, where 



NEW INVASION — RELEASE OF STATE PRISONERS. 395 

crowds of people had gathered to greet their long-absent 
townsmen. 

My husband made them a short speech. In the evening 
the people had a jubilee of rejoicing, and short speeches 
from several of the prisoners. The arrival of Mr. Nute 
and fellow prisoners, the same evening, added not a little 
to the enthusiasm of the hour. 

On the fourteenth of September a new "invasion was made 
against Lawrence. Gov. Geary was notified of the fact, 
and he commanded their dispersion. They burned several 
houses, and the saw-mill in Franklin, and drove off two 
hundred head of horses and cattle. When the owners of 
the cattle complained to Gov. Geary, he replied, "You 
should have driven them away." The owner of the saw- 
mill said, "Should I have driven away my saw-mill too?" 

A part of the same force passed up to Lecompton on the 
sixteenth, and killed David Buffum, a reliable free-state 
man, the same who brought the little howitzer into Law- 
rence, during the fall invasion, by singular skill and 
bravery.* 

Rumors having come into LawTence o\f the invaders 
committing depredations on the northern part of the terri- 
tory, by the advice of Gov. Geary's friend, a few men were 
sent to drive them out. On their way back to Lawrence, 
they were taken prisoners and carried to Lecompton, where 
they have since been retained. The horses of free-state 
men are being taken by the other party, under forms of 
law, and the system of robbery and outrage has received 
no check. 

Two gentlemen, new-comers in the territory, on the 

twenty-second were taken from the stage, as they were 

passing from Lawrence to Kansas City, and one is still 

missing. 

*Poor Buffum was murdered by these invaders, and Governor Geary 
could not force his judges to bring the murderers to justice, but the way he 
used the troops to defend Lawrence was better as a political move than 
military maueuvre. for Col. Cooke could have stopped them at the border. 
Gen. McLean, who was Gen. Calhoun's private secretary, said to noe the 
following winter, "We knew when to stop fighting. We knew how to elect 
Buchanan." 



396 KANSAS. 

Nothing but turbulence and disorders, — house-burnings 
and murders have filled all these summer months since 
the atrocious murders of the three men and two boys on 
the Potawatomie the night of May 24th, 1856. 

The promised peace has not yet come to Kansas. Hope- 
fully the settlers have waited for it; but their hope in the 
present administration has turned to dispair. With many 
fears, and many siifferings before them in the cold months 
coming, they still look forward to a day of deliverance 
when the genial breath of spring shall have melted winter's 
icy bands, and the new reign of peace and righteous laws 
takes the place of oppression and tyranny. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 

Two years have passed since the territory of Kansas was 
thrown open to settlement. Under the Squatter Sover- 
eignty bill, expecting to be protected, settlers came from 
the far East and North, as well as from the more Southern 
and Western States. They had a right to look for such 
protection to the President of these United States in the 
very provisions of that bill. How have they been pro- 
tected? Let his infamous appointees in the territory — the 
vile tools of tyranny — answer to an enlightened public 
sentiment. Let freemen, imprisoned for months on the 
prairie, under the burning sun, and amid drenching rains, 
for no crime but the innate love of freedom, tell the tale. 
Let the booming cannon battering down hotels, and print- 
ing-presses thrown into the Kansas river, tell afar the 
bloody despotism that rules our land. Let the bristling 
bayonets of the United States army tell how the free set- 
tlers have been outraged and plundered, while ruffian 
bands have been protected by it, under Gov. Shannon's 
orders. Let the loud moan of lone men, murdered by 
these hordes of the administration, and the bitter wail of 
desolate homes, borne on every gale, tell to the world the 
blackness of the demon Slavery, and the unmitigated vil- 
lainy of those who have aided, abetted, and connived at all 
these atrocities — those who have brought disgrace upon 
our country's name, and clothed their own in darkness so 
dense, that no after acts of a lifetime can erase the stains 
of blood and guilt. While the ghost-like forms of their 



398 KANSAS. 

murdered victims flit around their nightly pillows, and the 
cry, ''O, God! I am murdered!" comes to them on every 
morning breeze, and the low plaint of the insane widow, 
as she starts and listens at every footstep, saying, "Is it 
my husband?" as he comes never more, "O, my soul, 
come not thou into their secrets!" 

The appointees of the President in this territory, both 
judicial and executive, have, with two or three exceptions, 
in every possible way aided these invasions of the territory, 
the mobs, the murders, the downfall of freedom by fire and 
sword. When Gov. Reeder acted out his manliness, and 
refused to be a tool to carry out the nefarious plans of the 
administration, he was dismissed on a charge so false that 
even the vile minions of slavery denounced the President. 

This dismissal did not come, however, until the Presi- 
dent had urged Gov. Reeder to resign, promising him an 
appointment upon a foreign mission. Then a new gover- 
nor was appointed. He declined the appointment. Then 
another was found weak enough to accept the appointment, 
after a dismissal of the former governor under such circum- 
stances, and the refusal to accept of the second appointee. 
And well has he fulfilled the promise of meanness, heart- 
lessness, and perfect servility to the great Moloch of 
Slavery, an acceptance, at such a time, warranted us to 
expect. He made a league with our enemies before he set 
foot in the territory. He brought them against Lawrence, 
in December, 1855, by a tissue of lies. He made a treaty 
with his own people, when he found his fiat was not suffi- 
cient to annihilate them. When he feared his own life was 
in danger, he gave the people of Lawrence a right to pro- 
tect themselves, and him. In May a new horde of blood 
was brought against Lawrence. The protection of this in- 
strument of the slave power was implored again and again; 
but the last conference was closed by his demand of the 
guns being given up, because one hundred South Carolin- 
ians, just arrived in the territory, would not be satisfied 
without, and the hotel must be destroyed for the same 



AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 399 

laudable reason. Magnanimous governor! What laurels 
will crown his brow, as his name goes down to posterity; 
and how the closing remark of that conference will add 
lustre to them! 

This brave champion for slavery has dared to tell lone 
women on the Kansas prairies he would cut their d — d 
hearts out!" He has given passes to a few men traveling 
in the territory, showing his connection with the murders 
and outrages daily committed. He has at all times, when 
outrages have been committed by his accomplices, and he 
feared the just wrath of the people, protected them by 
United States troops. He has, when fearing an attack 
upon Lecompton, been seen entering the scow to cross the 
river to save himself, and, under the protection of Major 
Sedgwick, has made his second visit to the people of Law- 
rence, and made another treat}- with them. He has asked 
for an escort to get him out of the country. But the Pres- 
ident, at last, seeing the Democratic party in danger, has 
numbered the days of the governor. Let "de mortuis 
nisi bonum" be our motto. Judge Lecompte was particu- 
larl}- qualified to be the chief justice in Kansas, by his 
want of legal knowledge, and lack of intellectual ability. 
His particular forte in packing juries, and instructing grand 
jurors to indict freedom-loving citizens for high treason, as 
well as hotels and printing-presses as nuisances, has -prob- 
ably fulfilled the President's expectations in regard to him, 
as well as made him a worthy fellow-worker with the de- 
capitated governor. Another of the judges declared that 
he would leave the bench to assist in arresting persons who 
said they would pay no regard to the territorial laws. 
Such has been the partisan character of all these ap- 
pointees. 

When Congress was memoralized as to these grievances 
of the people, and a plain statement was* laid before the 
President of the invasion of March thirtieth, he signified 
his alliance with the rufiians by removing Gov. Reeder. 



400 KANSAS. 

During the siege of Lawrenc*, in which Gov. Shannon* 
had for his counselors men from Westport and Indepen- 
dence, when Clark, the Indian agent, in a most wanton 
manner, murdered an unarmed man, Judges Lecompte, 
Elmore, Johnson, Cato, and Burrill, being of the same 
party, as they left Lecompton on their way to head-quarters 
on thejWakarusa, the President was silent. He offered no 
protection toithe people of Lawrence. He has done noth- 
ing since towards the removal of the murderer. When, 
however, a new invasion being in preparation, word 
was sent to him, he suddenl}' found that some things in 
Kansas required his interposition. His special message 
was crowded upon the House, and his proclamation soon 
followed. Did he speak of the murder by his official? 
Not one word. Did he reprove the governor — the very 
man after his own heart in guilty weakness — for his unpar- 
alleled course of oppression? O, no! He told the peaceable 
settlers in Kansas, who had asked his protection, that he 
would "enforce the laws" of the Legislature elected by 
Missourians, ''with the army and navy of the United 
States." He, moreover, intimated very strongly that 
treason had been or would be committed. 

Again and again irruptions were made in the territory. 
The ballot-boxes were taken by force; and on the seven- 
teenth of January another murder, so terrible in all its 
barbarities that the mind shudders at the thought, was 
committed in the territory. The people, oppressed by cold 



*Aiulreiis savs of Gov. Shannon. On pa^e 143: "After his return to Kan- 
sas, althousli lioldins tenaciously to his Democratic faith, he was never 
actively identitied with the poiitical atfatrs of the Territory or State. He 
applied himself most assiduously to tlie duties of his profession, and took 
merited rank as one of the foremost lawyers of Kansas and the West. Old 
preiudices were softened as the years rolled on and under the charm of his 
couVtlv nilcii. the amiability of his temper and the nameless traits that 
made him tin- polished iicnt lenian. tlie all'ectiouate husband and father and 
ohlisiinji neighbor lie naturally was. his political sins, born more of weak- 
ness tlian malice, were blotted from many Uearts, and at the time of his 
death lie numbered amon« his best of friends not a few of those wlio in the 
day of his e.xecutive power, had been his bitterest foes. Gov. Charles Uob- 
inson. the head and front of the free-state movement, which Gov. Shannon 
abhorred, ill sumniiii^' uj) the closinj; years of his former antagonist, wrote 
thus kindly of him: 'His unofflcial life in Kansas endeared him to all who 
came ill cont-ai't with him. lie was a most estimable citizen, and respected 
by all who knew him.' " He spent the last years of his life in Lawrence, 
and died in IttTU. 



AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 4OI 

unprecedented, and many of them suffering for the actual 
wants of life, were harassed hourly by fears of the assassin. 
Yet the President was dumb. Spring came, and earth and 
sky rejoiced with mutual gladness in the balmy airs and up- 
springing verdure. Business revived, and the people 
hoped in some measure to retrieve their losses of the last 
fall's invasion; but the demon Slavery was yet insatiate. 
Armed bands from Missouri, South Carolina, and Alabama, 
poured into the territory. They openly proclaimed they 
came to "fight and to vote, and would return to their 
homes." These things were known to the country. Was 
the President one of those who, "having eyes, see not, and 
ears, hear not?" They came, and were enrolled as the 
militia of the territory — men so degraded, so debauched, 
that one of their officers in camp said "they never had had 
so good a home as that before." They were the proper 
instruments to do the work desired by the administration — 
sacking towns, robbing and murdering innocent people; 
and this they did under the orders of the United States 
Marshal. The way, they thought was open for a general 
extermination of free-state people, because, by the orders 
of Judge Lecompte, a few of the leaders had been thrown 
into prison, and others driven off. 

Lawrence was destroyed. Osawatomie was sacked. 
Guerrilla bands blockaded the highways, and murdered 
peaceable citizens. Did the President do anything? When 
by a word he could have given Kansas the long-sought-for 
peace, he said it not. The White House rose between him 
and the suffering dwellers in Kansas. He had been struck 
with official blindness, and saw not how, when he had been 
their willing agent, their pliant tool, the southern party 
would cast him off as a worthless thing. He had gone too 
low; he had crouched too humbly; he could not be trusted. 
So they gave him a complimentary vote when he came 
before that Cincinnati Convention, in the words of a Massa- 
chusetts senator, "with the lurid light of the sacked and 
burning dwellings of Kansas flashing on his brazen brow, 

26 



^02 KANSAS. 

and with the blood of the people of Kansas dripping from 
his hands." When our people attempted to right their 
wrongs by assembling to memorialize Congress, an armed 
body of United States troops rushed in upon them, and 
commanded their dispersion. This act, on the Fourth of 
July, 1856, makes the third act of this kind chronicled in 
history. While such things are being sanctioned in Kan- 
sas, the Missouri river is infested by pirates, and closed to 
peaceable citizens. The President still looks on unmoved, 
and permits outrages which long ago would have been 
made the pretext for a bloody war, had one-tenth part of 
the wrongs been committed by a foreign power. 

We have fallen upon the evil times, in our country's 
history, when it is treason to think, to speak a word against 
the crime of slavery, or in favor of free labor. In Kansas, 
prisons or instant death by barbarians are the reward; and 
in the Senate, wielders of bludgeons are honored by the state 
which has sent ruffians to desolate Kansas. But in this 
reign of misrule the President and his advisers have failed 
to note the true effect of such oppression. The fires of 
liberty have been rekindled in the hearts of our people, 
and burn in yet brighter flame under midnight skies illu- 
mined by their own burning dwellings. The sight of law- 
less, ruthless invaders, acting under the United States 
government, has filled them with that "deep, dark, sullen, 
teeth-clenched silence, bespeaking their hatred of tyranny, 
which armed a William Tell and Charlotte Corday. " The 
best, the boldest utterance of man's spirit for freedom will 
not be withheld. The administration, with the most insane 
malignity, has prepared the way for a cruel war, and the 
extermination of freemen in Kansas. With untiring malice, 
it has endeavored to effect this by the aid of a corrupt 
judiciary, packed juries, and reckless officials. In violation 
of the Constitution of the United States, no regard was 
paid to the sacred rights of freemen in their persons and 
property. Against the known sentiment and conviction of 
half the nation these deeds of infamy have been plotted. 



AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 403 

and have been dilligently carried on. That a people are 
down-trodden is not evidence that they are subdued. The 
crushed energies are gathering strength; and, like a strong 
man resting from the heats and toils of the day, the people 
of Kansas will arise to do battle for liberty; and, when 
their mighty shouts for freedom shall ascend over her hills 
and prairies, slavery will shrink back abashed. Life, with- 
out liberty, is valueless, and there are times which demand 
the noble sacrifice of life. The people of Kansas are in 
the midst of such times; and amid discomfitures and defeat 
men will be found who for the right will stand with sterner 
purpose and bolder front. Kansas will never be surrendered 
to the slave power. God has willed it! Lawrence, the city 
where the plunderer feasted at the hospitable table, and, 
Judas-like, went out to betray it, will come forth from its 
early burial clothed with yet more exceeding beauty. Out 
of its charred and blood-stained ruins, where the flag of 
rapine floated, will spring the high walls and strong para- 
pets of freedom. The sad tragedies in Kansas will be 
avenged, when freedom of speech, of the press, and of the 
person, are made sure by the downfall of those now in 
power, and when the song of the reaper is heard again 
over our prairies, and, instead of the clashing of arms, we 
see the gleam of the ploughshare in her peaceful valleys. 
Men of the North, shall the brave hearts in Kansas struggle 
alone? 



APPENDIX. 



EXPLANATORY NOTE. 

The following letters and articles bearing upon incidents 
in the early history of Kansas, particularly with reference 
to the character and career of John Brown, will be of 
interest to all who desire the truth in regard to affairs in 
those troublous days of the Territory and State. The facts 
stated therein, the author believes, are of such importance 
that they should be preserved, especially as the persons 
quoted are of recognized high character, having no per- 
sonal ends to subserve in what they have said. 



MR. TOWNSLEYS STATEMENT. 

The statement of Mr. Townsley, given below, was procured by the 
late John Hutchings, Esq., of Lawrence, Kansas. In answer to the 
question, "Who is Mr. Townsley?" the Lawrence, Kansas, Journal ss-ys: 

"James Townsley, whose statement in regard to the Potawatomie af- 
fair we publish this morning, was one of the first settlers in Anderson 
county. In Johnson's history of that county we notice that he was one 
of the Commissioners who located its first county seat, a place called 
Shannon, March i, 1856. At that place all the county business was 
transacted until April 5, 1856. He was also one of the Commissioners 
who located in the same month the first road in the county, running from 
Shermanville (Dutch Henry's Crossing) through the county seat to 
Hampden and Cofachique. The closeness of his relations to the hero of 
Harper's Ferry in one of the most striking, if not important, acts of his 
life, will be likely to secure for his name a remembrance not soon to be 
extinguished." 

Mr. Townsley said: 

I am a native of Hartford county, state of Maryland, and was born 
August 29, 1815. I enlisted in company I, Capt. Benjamin L. Bell, 
Second United States dragoons, and served five years in the war waged 
against the Seminole and Creek Indians, a part of the time under the 
command of Gen. Taylor, and was discharged in August, 1844, at Fort 
Washita, Indian Territory. I am a painter by trade, and followed that 
business in Fallston, in my native county, until October 20, 1855, when 
I emigrated to Kansas with my family, and settled in Anderson county, 
on the Potawatomie Creek, about one mile west of Greeley. I joined the 
Potawatomie rifle company at its reorganization in May, 1855, at which 
time John Brown, Jr., was elected captain. On the 21st of the same 
month information was received that the Georgians were marching on 
Lawrence, threatening its destruction. The company was immediately 
called together, and about 4 o'clock p. m. we started on a forced march 
to aid in its defense. About two miles south of Middle Creek we were 
joined by the Osawatomie company, under Capt. Dayton, and proceeded 
to Mount Vernon, where we waited about two hours, until the moon 
rose. We then marched all night, camping the next morning, the 22d, 
for breakfast, near Ottawa Jones'. Before we arrived at this point news 
had been received that Lawrence had been destroyed, and a question 



408 KANSAS. 

was raised whether we should return or go on. During the forenoon, 
however, we proceeded up Ottawa Creek to within about five miles of 
Palmyra, and went into camp near the re'sidence of Captain Shore. 
Here we remained undecided over night. About noon the next daj', the 
23d, old John Brown came to me and said he had just received informa- 
tion that trouble was expected on the Potawatomie, and wanted to know 
if I would take my team and take him and his boys back so that they 
could keep watch of what was going on. I told him I would do so. 
The party consisting of old John Brown, Frederick Brown, Owen Brown, 
Watson Brown, Oliver Brown, Henry Thompson (John Brown's son-in- 
law), and Mr. Winer, were soon ready for the trip, and we started, as 
near as I can remember, about 2 o'clock p. m. All of the party, except 
Mr. Winer, who rode a pony, rode with me in my wagon. When within 
two or three miles of the Potawatomie Creek, we turned off the main 
road to the right, drove down to the edge of the timber between two deep 
ravines, and camped about one mile above Dutch Henry's Crossing. 

After my team was fed and the party had taken supper, John Brown 
told me for the first time what he proposed to do. He said he wanted 
me to pilot the company up to the forks of the creek, some five or six 
miles above, into the neighborhood where I lived, and show them where 
all the pro-slavery men resided; that he proposed to sweep the creek as 
he came down of all the pro-slavery men living on it. I positively re- 
fused to do it. He insisted upon it, but when he found that I would not 
go he decided to postpone the expedition until the following night. I 
then wanted to take my team and go home, but he would not let me do 
so, and said I should remain with them. We remained in camp that 
night and all day the next day. Sometime after dark we were ordered 
to march. 

We started, the whole company, in a northerly direction, crossing 
Mosquito Creek above the residence of the Doyles. Soon after crossing 
the creek some one of the party knocked at the door of a cabin, but re- 
ceived no reply — I have forgotten whose cabin it was, if I knew at the 
time. The next place we came to was the residence of the Doyles. 
John Brown, three of his sons and son-in-law went to the door, leaving 
Frederick Brown, Winer, and myself a short distance from the house. 
About this time a large dog attacked us. Frederick Brown struck the 
dog a blow with his short two-edged sword, after which I dealt him a 
blow with my sabre, and heard no more of him. The old man Doyle 
and two sons were called out and marched some distance from the house 
toward Dutch Henry's in the road, where a halt was made. Old John 
Brown drew his revolver and shot the old man Doyle in the forehead, 
and Brown's two youngest sons immediately fell upon the younger 
Doyles with their short two-edged swords. 

One of the young Doyles was stricken down in an instant, but the 



APPENDIX. 409 

Other attempted to escape, and was pursued a short distance by his as- 
sailant and cut down. The company then proceeded down Mosquito 
Creek to the house of Allen Wilkinson. Here the old man Brown, three 
of his sons, and son-in-law, as at the Doyle residence, went to the door 
and ordered Wilkinson to come out, leaving Frederick Brown, Winer 
and myself standing in the road east of the house. Wilkinson was taken 
and marched some distance south of his house and slain in the road, 
with a short sword, by one of the younger Browns. After he was killed 
his body was dragged out to one side and left. 

We then crossed the Potawatomie and came to the house of Henry 
Sherman, generally known as Dutch Henry. Here John Brown and the 
party, excepting Frederick Brown, Winer and myself, who were left 
outside a short distance from the door, went into the house and brought 
out one or two persons, talked with them some, and then took them in 
again. They afterward brought out William Sherman, Dutch Henry's 
brother, marched him down into the Potawatomie Creek, where he was 
slain with swords by Brown's two youngest sons, and left lying in the 
creek. After the killing of William Sherman, some time after midnight, 
we all went back to camp, about one mile distant, where we had left my 
team and other things. We remained in camp until after noon of the 
following day, and then started to join the Potawatomie company under 
John Brown, Jr. When we reached Ottawa Jones' about midnight, we 
found them in camp at that place. 

The next morning the company was called together just after break- 
fast, and John Brown, Jr., announced his resignation, and requested the 
company to elect another captain in his place. The name of H. H. Wil- 
liams, now of Osawatomie, and my own were presented and a vote taken 
which resulted in the election of Williams. The company then broke 
camp and started for home. After crossing Middle Creek at Mount Ver- 
non, John Brown, with the rest of the party who accompanied him on 
the Potawatomie expedition, fell back from the balance of the company 
and struck off to the left of the main Potawatomie road, in the direction 
of the cabins of John Brown, Jr., and Jason Brown. That night we 
staid at the cabin of the former, keeping up a guard all night. The next 
night we went to Jason Brown's, about one mile and a half away. 

Here we remained several days, all the time on the watch. While we 
remained here August Bundy. and I think Benjamin L. Cochran, joined 
us. After several days, as I now remember, a young man by the name 
of Carpenter came to us from Prairie City and gave the information that 
Capt. Pate was in the vicinity in search of Brown. That evening we all 
took horses and started for Prairie City, where we arrived next morning 
about daylight and camped in the timber on Ottawa Creek, near Capt. 
Shore's. While John Brown was cooking breakfast for the company, 
James Redpath came into our camp and had some conversation with ' 
Capt. Brown. 



410 KANSAS. 

I saw Redpath again after the battle of Black Jack, near Blue Mound, 
and I desire to say in this connection, that I never told Redpath at any 
time that John Brown was not present at the Potawatomie tragedy. His 
statement, which was read to me, to the effect that "two squatters, who 
aided in the execution," gave him such information, is totally false, so 
far as I am concerned. As Winer and myself were the only settlers in 
the neighborhood not members of Brown's family who were present at 
the tragedy, I can only conclude he referred to us. 

Lane, Kan., Dec. 6, 1879. (Signed) James Townslev. 



STATEMENT OF THE GRANTS. 

Geo. W. Grant, a son of John T. Grant, mentioned by Johnson Clark, 
in an article headed "I'lincher, " made a statement to the Lawrence 
Journal a few weeks ago, the substance of which is given below, from 
that paper, as follows: 

"We were neighbors of the Shermans, of the Doyles, and Wilkinsons. 

"When the news came that the Border Ruffians were about to attack 
Lawrence, the free-state men of Potawatomie Creek raised a company to 
go to the rescue. It was under the command of Capt. John Brown, Jr. 
I was a member of the company. We started for Lawrence, but on the 
way there a messenger reached us saying it was too late; that the town 
was already sacked. While lying in camp the company was drawn up 
one day, and old John Brown called for volunteers, saying: "How many 
men will volunteer to go with me and obey my orders?" When he 
called for volunteers John Brown, J.., said: "Father, I object to any of 
the men leaving. We are getting near the enemy and may need them. ' 
After the number had volunteered, John Brown, Jr., said, "Father, be 
careful and commit no rash act." The volunteers were Fred, Owen, 
Salmon and Oliver Brown, Thompson, John Brown's son-in-law, Mr, 
Winer, and Mr. Townsley, with his team. After they had volunteered 
they went into camp by themselves, and ground up their sabres. They 
were armed with short swords or sabres. 

"We were at Ottawa Jones'; the Brown party came in during the 
night. The next morning I saw one of Dutch Henry's horses, which 
they had brought in. It was a gray horse, with mane and tail sheared. 
We had beared of the killing on Potawatomie Creek, at Palmyra, and 
had returned. 

"The effect of the news of the massacre on John Brown, Jr., was very 
marked. He showed great agitation, and gave up the command of the 
company to H. H. Williams. 

"They were apparently killed by a thrust with the short sword, and by 
cuts over the head with the sabre, except, Doyle, who was shot in the 



APPENDIX. 



411 



forehead, and also stabbed. There was no idea at that time that the 
bodies had been purposely mutilated. The wounds in the hands had 
apparently been made either in attempting to ward off blows, or in 
grasping the blades of the short swords. 

"Mrs. Wilkinson's description of the leader pointed out Brown as 
present at the killing. She mentioned his being an old man, and his 
wearing a black stock about his neck, which Brown habitually wore. 
Nobody on the creek doubted that John Brown was the leader of the 
party. As to the killing, it was the current story that Brown shot Doyle, 
but personally did nothing more, and that the cutting and stabbing was 
done by other members of the party. 

"The effect of this massacre on the inhabitants of the creek, was to 
greatly alarm both parties. The pro-slavery settlers almost entirely left 
at once and the free-state people were constantly fearful of vengeance. 
As a matter of fact, there was no more killing on either side in that 
neighborhood. Dutch Henry — Henry Sherman, was killed in the spring 
of 1857, but politics had nothing to do with it." 

To this statement, in the Jour)ial oi December nth, 1879, is affixed 
the signature of Geo. W. & H. C. Grant. 



The following appeared as an editorial in the Lawrence, Kan., Stand- 
ard, of Decomber nth, 1879: 

"WERE THEY MUTILATED? 

"Mr. Townsley, in his statement about the Potawatomie massacre, 
says that the bodies of the Doyles were not mutilated, or at least 
not to his knowledge. Mr. Ely Moore, who is employed in the 
Sla}idurd office, says that he arrived at the scene of the murder before 
the bodies were cold, that the ears and noses of old man Doyle and one 
of his sons were cut off, and that old man Doyle had a great gash down 
the side of his face, cut apparently with a sword or sabre. John Brown's 
pistol ball entered just over the eye. " 



LETTER FROM ELI THAYER. 

^ Like the great mass of the active friends of Kansas in the eastern 
states, Mr. Thayer was deceived by placing confidence in the representa- 
tions of old John Brown. Ignorant of the full facts until years after, 
Mr. Thayer contributed largely of his private means to aid the old man 
in his insurrectionary movements. 

"G. IV. Broivn, M. Z?.— Dear Sir:— Every lover of historical truth 
owes you a debt of gratitude, for your fearless and manly review of the 



412 KANSAS. 

history of John Brown in Kansas. You have followed the guidance of 
facts to their logical and indisputable conclusions, unterrified by denun- 
ciation and abuse, unmoved by the sickly protests and the sickening 
entreaties of the sentimental worshipers of the subject of your sketch. 
That a man so narrow and bigoted as he, so ignorant and deceptive, so 
ferocious and malignant, should have been puffed into the semblance of 
a moral hero, or inflated to the majestic stature of a god, is one of the 
greatest wonders of this wonderful century. 

"It was fortunate for Kansas that John Brown did not enter her bor- 
ders till the time had passed when he, or any other man, could have 
changed her destiny. Had he come one year earlier, his blind ferocity, 
and unreasoning hatred of slave-holders, might have subjected our infant 
colonies to retaliatory acts by Missourians, which they would have been 
powerless either to resist or avert. 

"As the case now stands, but little more may be said of John Brown. 
No one need paint again the ghastly picture on the Potawatomie? Five 
unarmed men, taken from their homes at midnight, and murdered in 
cold blood ! The supplicating agony of wives and children, soon chang- 
ing to the despairing wail of widows and orphans ! Five dead bodies 
lying unattended on the bleak prairie, with heads split open, hands cut 
off, breast and jaws punctured, and the curdling blood crying from the 
ground for vengeance ! An appalling scene ! One more hideous than 
this could scarcely be presented to mortal eye. Friends and eulogists 
can never palliate, or explain away, the damaging infamy and fiendish 
atrocity of the doers of this horrid work. As that picture is now pre- 
sented, so it must remain forever! Invincible truth will be its keeper, 
and no friend of the great criminal can throw light on its deep shadows, 
or erase a single one of its loathsome features. Neither can it be made 
worse. The concentrated malice of all Brown's enemies, with unlimited 
license to do their will, could add nothing to its overwhelming horrors ! 
No one need again expose to public execration that merciless tyranny 
which drove one of his sons through murder to insanity, and two others 
through treason to death! 

"The writer's confidence has been many times abused, but never 
in any other instance so grossly and wickedly abused as by John Brown. 
Not long before his attack on the United States arsenal he came to ray 
house to ask for arms, with which, he said, he intended to protect some 
free-state settlements in Kansas against an invasion of border ruffians 
at that very time in process of preparation. He would not tell me how 
he had ascertained the fact of the intended raid, or what was the proof 
of it. He said he knew it and would like to be prepared to save our 
settlements. I gave him all the arras I had. I did not hear of hira, or 
the arms in Kansas, or of any invasion of border ruffians, but I did hear 
of his attack upon the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, with 



APPENDIX. 413 

these identical arms, which were there captured. In this way he made 
my devotion to the free-state settlements in Kansas serve to aid and abet 
his own treason in Virginia. Had he told me the TRUTH, effective 
measures would have been taken to prevent his suicidal and murderous 
work. When the end justifies the means lying may be a holy vocation. 
"John Brown threw away his life in a fruitless effort to translate into 
heroic deeds the graceless gabble of a few Northern Secessionists. 
Stimulated by their sentiments, and exasperated almost to frenzy by his 
attempts and failures in Kansas to sustain them, he determined to rush, 
single-handed, against the United States. Cervantes himself never 
wrote anything one-half so Quixotic. 

"Eli Thayer. 

"Worcester, Mass., Jan 13th, 1880." — {Reminiscences of Old John 
Broiun.) 



LETTER FROM JAMES CHRISTIAN. 

Arkansas City, Kan., January 20, 1880. 

G. IV. Brozvn, Af. D. : — It is needless to say that I greatly enjoyed 
your "Reminiscences of old John Brown." It gives me pleasure to 
know that there is an "abolitionist," as we used to call you, who has the 
courage, honesty and manliness to tell the truth, though it shall alienate 
from you many valuable friends. 

The general facts in regard to the terrible Potawatomie massacre 
were well known to me, as I was confidentially and fully advised on the 
subject on the return of Capt. Sam Walker from the scene of the out- 
rage, where he was sent to inquire into the matter. Your letter and in- 
cident, with letters of confirmation from living persons who witnessed 
the damning deed, are indeed "clinchers" to the general public. 

It is well for you, Friend Brown, that twenty-three years have passed 
since these things occurred, and that many of the more desperate of the 
John Brown faction, like their leader, are under the sod, else your life, 
like that of Jerome Glanville, would have paid the forfeit for revealing 
the facts. You will remember that Glanville was the man who was 
stopping at Dutch Henry's on the night of the massacre, and was taken 
out to be killed as the others were. On examination he was found to be 
only a traveler, but was kept a prisoner until morning, and then dis- 
charged. He informed me personally who were the principal actors in 
that damning midnight tragedy, and said that the next morning, when 
the old man raised his hands to heaven to ask a blessing they zvere 
stained zuith the dried blood of his victims. For being too free in his 
expressions about the matter he was soon after shot in his wagon be- 
tween Black Jack and the head of Bull creek, while on his way to Kansas 



414 KANSAS. 

City. Being like yourself, opposed to war, violence, and bloodshed, I 
never had a very exalted opinion of the rude old barbarian, or any of his 
murderous clan. 

I hope to have the pleasure of reading more of your "recollections," 
particularly those in regard to Jim Lane, with whom I was so long asso- 
ciated in business. Believe me your friend, 

James Christian. 



N. EGGLESTON IN NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW. 

Solon, O., Oct. 18, 1883. 

Editor Review: — I am a subscriber for the Revieiu, and have just 
read in the November number the article entitled "John Brown of Osa- 
watomie." I cannot wait to read anything else, — I must thank you, — I 
want to thank Rev. David N. Utter, please give me his address on a card 
and I will thank you again. I knew the old scoundrel long before the 
war; long before Kansas was known; long before abolition had many ad- 
vocates. He tried to blow up his mother-in-law with powder; he was 
guilty of every meanness. He involved his father at one time in ruin, 
and everybody else he had anything to do with. I refer to Simon Per- 
kins, of Akron, Ohio. 

When his farm was sold at sheriff's sale in Hudson, he took two or 
three of his largest boys into the house and barricaded it, laid in a stock 
of guns and ammunition, and when the day of sale came defied the sheriff 
and his posse; the guns were pointed out of every window and the sheriff 
returned, but sold the place and gave possession then as far as he could. 
The purchaser occupied what he could of the property till at length 
Brown and his first original "northern army" found it was no use to re- 
sist further. He finally gave up and moved away. This was one of the 
first of his "higher law" methods. 

His swindling operations in Franklin, Portage county, O., would make 
another chapter. The last time I saw him was at Brockvvay's hotel, in 
Cleveland, where he had a large gang of Missouri horses selling. Brock- 
way told me they were stolen, and I heard the question put to Brown 
himself and he did not deny it. 

I saw him in Aurora laying in ammunition which he said was for 
Kansas, and said further he was going there to fight. If New England 
can't find better material to make heroes of than John Brown she had 
better go without them. Yours, 

N. Eggleston. 



APPENDIX. 



FROM GEN. EWING. 



415 



"Those brilliant, patriotic and enthusiastic young men of the press — 
William A. Phillips, lately deceased, who crowned his glorious services 
for freedom in Kansas, with a service equally glorious in the army; James 
Redpath, R. J. Hinton, and their associates, Kagi, Realf, Cook, Tappan, 
Walden and others, whose political letters filled all the Republican 
papers of that day with reports of the struggle for freedom in Kansas, 
were imbued with John Brown's fervid faith that slavery would be 
abolished through a war of the North against the South, brought on by 
collisions in Kansas between the free-state party and the Federal Gov- 
ernment." 



JOEL K. GOODTN ON THE KANSAS CONFLICT. 

Mr. Goodin came to Kansas in 1854, was secretary of both the ter- 
ritorial and free-state party executive committees, attended all impor- 
tant conventions, and was cognizant of every movement. The letter 
follows: 

Hon. Charles Robinsori : — I am in receipt of your new book, "The 
Kansas Conflict." As yet time has not been granted me for its careful 
perusal, although I have given a general overlook of its pages. Just now 
to fittingly express my thanks to you, as also to congratulate the public, is 
not an easy thing to do, that you have been spared to collate and publish 
a book which covers the seminal points connected with that conflict and 
establish every essential feature thereof with such indubitable evidence 
as cannot be controverted and which no sincere man will attempt to 
gainsay. 

The policy outlined and adhered to ab initio of the conservative element 
of early Kansas, to steer clear from conflict with the general government 
and at the same "time fail to recognize the "bogus laws' formulated by 
foreign invaders and political nondescripts, seemed so hard to be under- 
stood by the masses, and so little heeded by the hot-headed among us, 
that we were many times confronted with imminent danger of losing the 
prize sought for, as well as the hopes entertained of building up in this 
center of the Union a state devoted to freedom, progressiveness and a 
grander civilization than those we had left behind. 

How often in retrospect of the past, and since peace came to us to 
stay, when witnessing our rapid growth and development, have I shud- 
dered and paled as some incident would come up vividly before me of 
the past. Such for instance as John Brown's and Montgomery's forays 
and massacres south of us — Lane's maneuvres to establish an independ- 
ent state government in conflict with congressional enactments and the 
recognized authorities at Washington — his proposed forcible rescue of 



4l6 KANSAS 

the treason prisoners (so called), and his diabolical and fiendish scheme 
of ravage and wholesale murder of the members of the constitutional 
convention at Lecompton, which for atrocity was not only appalling, but 
its effect would have been for the time at least, fatal to the success of the 
cause to which we gave our time, our labor, and, if need be, our lives to 
maintain, yet dared not jeopardize our friends in the states or the cause 
so dear to us by endorsing wholesale butchery or following in the wake 
of insanity gone mad. 

No old settler can read your book without a feeling so intense that he 
makes many of the incidents therein narrated matters of personal inter- 
est, being episodes in his own life, and I say to you that I am gratified 
as I am also astonished at the amount of painstaking labor brought 
into requisition and evidenced in the gathering and saving and collecting 
of such a mass of letters, speeches, newspaper excerpts and other sur- 
rounding evidences which you have grouped together in their proper 
places, making the work as attractive to the reader as Mrs. Stowe's 
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" or Bellamy's "Looking Backward," and yet so 
educating to all who would know the truth for truth's sake. Those group- 
ings also have merit inestimable, in that they establish and substantiate 
all material facts stated, thus giving the book an unqualified impress of 
its truthfulness which ever inspires confidence with its readers. 

Again, your published opinions of men, measures, policies as well as 
acts in their connection with that conflict, are characteristic as well as 
commendable for the forcible English used, the absence of equivocation 
or prevarication or even inuendo. You neither gild nor blacken, use 
whitewash or other coatings, but like "apples of gold in pictures of 
silver," write what you believe to be the truth without fear, favor or 
affectation, no matter where it may strike. 

That criticism will follow, severe and relentless, too, you must expect. 
Indeed, unless they do, an assurance that your work has been well done 
will not be with you so abiding. No man in this age of the world can 
step out in the fore without detractors and sycophants are found barking 
at his heels. 

The sickening adulations and offensive slobber (excuse the word, but 
no other so forceful now comes to my aid) over some of the imaginary 
saviors of Kansas to freedom which has passed the lips of both ministers 
and laymen, lecturers and politicians, editors and essayists, demagogues 
and mountebanks, during the past thirty years, has added but little to 
the truthfulness of history or a healthy education of the young men and 
women of our state, and if, by your lifting the veil covering these 
beslavered divinities, heroic and self-sacrificing beyond angelic perfec- 
tion, as they would have them appear, you have caused another view to 
be presented, of course several windbags will have been pricked, a con- 
siderable amount of vanity and pride wounded, and you will have to run 
the gauntlet of lying tongues and merciless pens. 



APPENDIX.' 



417 



Taking your work and book as an entirety, I feel that the labor has 
been well expended and courageously and effectually accomplished, and 
has filled a niche that could not have been afforded to be left unoccupied, 
neither so satisfactorily done by any other man within or outside of 
Kansas. Personally I am glad to have lived to see the book so elegantly 
published and put into circulation for it has been and is greatly needed. 
I much fear that the inner workings of a destructive and dangerous ele- 
ment that ever menaced us in our early struggle will never see the light in 
print, since the author of such a book has died during its preparation. 
I allude to Charles Leonhardt. Mr. Leonhardt would have written facts 
that would have caused more than a ripple to be seen on the surface of 
our territorial history and disabused the mind of many a deluded wor- 
shiper who made pilgrimages to the Mecca of their imaginary heroes 
and saints. 

In closing allow me to congratulate you upon the crowning effort of 
your busy life, "The Kansas Conflict," and hoping that many years of 
unalloyed satisfaction and quiet may be added to your now three score 
and nearly fourteen, I am as ever, yours truly, J. K. Goodin. 



FROM THE REVIEW OF THE KANSAS CONFLICT BY 
COL O. E. LEARNARD. 

Concerning the character and services of John Brown, it is probable 
that the views expressed by Governor Robinson reflect the settled senti- 
ment, for the most part at least, of those personally familiar with the 
facts. John Brown — Potavvatomie Brown as General Butler has it, and 
not Osawatomie Brown as the Atchison Globe has it — never was in any 
proper sense a resident of Kansas. His immediate family was never 
here, and he never evinced any purpose of bringing them here. Pre- 
vious to his coming to Kansas he had established his home among the 
Adirondack hills in New York, having utterly failed in every business 
undertaking of his life, a misanthrope — broken in fortune and involved 
in litigation in half a dozen states. While here he never co-operated 
with the best elements of the Free-State party, and was never trusted by 
them The one black spot in the Free-State annals of Kansas is the 
work of his hands. The circumstances of his more than tragic death, 
his indomitable will and noble courage, and above all the pathetic appeal 
in his behalf by Victor Hugo, stirred the pity and the sympathy of the 
civilized world. Governor Wise made John Brown a martyr, and Victor 
Hugo made him a saint. 

While the characterization of General Lane is sharp and stern — we 
had almost said merciless — his friends will hardly claim that his career 
in Kansas was embarrassed by scruples or hampered by convictions. 
27 



4l8 KANSAS. 

That he was crafty, unscrupulous, and audacious in his self-seeking will 
hardly be denied. Nevertheless his audacity, gorgeous schemes, profuse 
promises, and artful intrigues served to provoke a lively interest in his 
person and movements, and he possessed a certain magnetic power that 
swayed and controlled men even when they had no confidence in him. 
A compound of IMark Antony and Cassius, he was less an Antony than a 
Cassius. 

A strangely inexplicable incident of the civil war and illustrative of 
the insidious influence that Lane was capable of exercising, as well as 
the confiding nature of Mr. Lincoln, is shown in the support given by 
him to Lane in his scheme to ignore and over-ride the state government 
in the organization of the Kansas troops and in the control of the troops 
in the field, even to the extent of virtually superseding General Hunter, 
who was properly in command of the district, and whose efforts were 
continually thwarted by this intervention. It is known, too, that this 
was in disregard of the earnest protests of some of Mr. Lincoln's life-long 
and trusted friends. 

The Army of the Border, which was the outgrowth of these conditions, 
was an unique affair — it could hardly be called an organization. Lane 
in command without a commission, with a numerous staff similarly cir- 
cumstanced, many of the regimental officers who had never been mus- 
tered into the service having been advised not to accept commissions 
from "Charlie Robinson," subject to no restraint beyond the will and 
pleasure of their leader, is without a parallel in modern military exper- 
ience. 



S. C. SMITH ON THE BRANSON RESCUE. 

S. N. Wood, S. F. Tappan, and S. C. Smith, went over from Law- 
rence to Hickory Point to attend the meeting called to consider the facts 
in relation to the murder of Dow. Wood and Tappan were residents of 
Lawrence, and Smith a resident of the Wakarusa precinct, having a 
claim on the south fork of Coal Creek, but was then stopping temporarily 
in Lawrence making a copy of the constitution framed by the Topeka 
convention, of which body he was secretary. 

After the meeting, which did not adjourn until near dusk, on their re- 
turn, Tappan, who was on horseback, rode on towards Lawrence, leaving 
Wood and Smith with Major Abbott at Abbott's house. Tappan, after 
some time had passed, came back, and informed Wood, Abbott and 
Smith that Jones and a posse had just gone by on their way to arrest 
Branson. On crossing Blanton's bridge Tappan noticed a number of 
horses with saddles in front of a saloon, and thinking it suspicious sought 
to learn the purpose of the party. When the men came out, and 
mounted, and passed on the road south, he joined them, and rode on 



APPENDIX. 



419 



with therrl, guarding himself from discovery, to which the darkness aided 
him, until he had learned what their purpose was, when he cautiously 
left them and hastened to Abbott's. 

After consideration it was decided by them that Tappan should let 
Wood take his horse and Abbott should procure a horse from a neighbor, 
and send a messenger up the Wakarusa to give the alarm, with a request 
that those warned should hasten to the house of Mr. Esterbrook, south- 
easterly from Abbott's, and about half way between Abbott's and Bran- 
son's; then Wood and Abbott were to hasten to Branson's as fast as 
possible. Tappan and Smith were to go at once to Esterbrook 's, giving 
notice to settlers on the way, and there await word from Wood and 
Abbott. 

When Wood and Abbott reached Branson's they found that Branson 
had been arrested and taken, but could not learn the route the posse had 
taken with him. After a vain search for the trail, Wood and Abbott 
agreed that Wood should ride to Abbott's house as rapidly as he could 
and stop any persons there on their way to Esterbrook 's, and that Ab- 
bott should go to Esterbrook's and hurry those to his house for consul- 
tation. 

On reaching Abbott's Wood stopped a party of a dozen. Abbott reached 
Esterbrook's, and gave the directions for those there to go to his house, 
and rode on ahead of them; Tappan, Smith and Esterbrook followed on 
foot. 

When Abbott reached home the party there assembled, while in con- 
sultation as to what should be done, were startled by the cry, "They are 
coming!" At once they rushed from the house and got into the road 
ahead of them, when they halted. 

According to Branson's testimony Sheriff Jones then asked, "What's 
up?" Some one of the rescuing party said, "That's what we want to 
know; what's up?" I then spoke and said, "They have got me here a 
prisoner." One of the rescuers asked, "Is that you, Branson?" I said, 
it was, and he told me to come over to their side. Two men were by 
me then and one said, 'Don't you go, or we will shoot you.' I told them 
to shoot if they wanted to, as I was going." Branson rode over to the 
rescuers, got off his mule and asked what he should do with it. Some 
one said, "Let it go to hell," and I let go of it, and some one kicked it, 
and it went back to Jones' party. Branson was then told to go into 
Abbott's house, and did so. At this moment Tappan, Esterbrook and 
Smith reached Abbott's, and met him coming out of his house, and he 
said to them, "We have got him and he is in the house." Behind the 
house, on horseback, were the posse, facing the rescuing party with S. 
N. Wood in front of it. A battle of words was waging fiercely between 
the opposing parties. A pro-slavery man said, with an oath, "I can bear 
this no longer," and guns were moved on his side as if to fire, when 



420 KANSAS. 

Wood said to the men behind him, "Come up here men, what are you 
afraid of." They stepped up, bringing their guns to a ready. The 
posse lowered flieir guns and their opponents did the same. Jones and 
some of his men then dismounted and mingled with the free-state men, 
stating why and how he had arrested Branson, demanding his delivery to 
him and threatening the consequences that would follow if he was not 
delivered. 

On the refusal of the free-siate men to deliver up Branson, Jones and 
his posse rode away. The free-state men considered what should be 
done. Finally thay decided that it was best to take Branson to Law- 
rence. They were, and had been, only a body of men suddenly called 
together to meet an emergency, and no man there had any right, or exer- 
cised the right, to assume leadership by any authority before given. 

When the forces confronted each other nearly all the free-state men 
had something to say; but as in all such cases there will be some one 
who will, take the leading part, so in this case the facts as there known 
show that S. N. Wood bore a leader's part. Such was his fearlessness, 
zeal, and reputation, he could not help going to the front and becoming 
leader of men thus hurriedly called to meet danger. 

After it was decided to go to Lawrence S. N. Wood was made captain 
and S. C. Smith lieutenant. A drum was procured, and taking Bran.son 
with them the rescuing party started for Lawrence. No one of that 
body of men had thought of the future, or of the result of his act, when 
he rallied to take Branson from the usurping sheriff who was persecuting 
him because he was for a free state. If any one gave thought to it he 
could only think of Lexington and Concord bridge, where were "fired 
the shots heard round the world." 

At Lawrence the rescuers first called on Gov. Robinson, who advised 
the calling of a meeting. The history of the events that followed are 
given in the text. 

Such was the record of the rescue in the early days when the event 
was fresh in mind and its participants living. 

A few years ago Major Abbott in an address before a historical soci- 
ety gave an account so different from the accepted facts, as to excite 
surprise and pain. He was reported as saying that an erroneous im- 
pression had prevailed as to who was the leader in the rescue, that S. N. 
Wood immediately after went east, and while on his way wrote a letter 
to the St. Louis papers claiming to be the leader, which, at the time, 
was thought by those engaged in the rescue to have been done to protect 
or screen the real leader; that on his return from the east he repeated 
the statement that he was the leader. Abbott claimed that he was a mem- 
ber of a military company to which Dow, tlxe murdered man belonged, 
and that company called the meeting to consider the matter, and on his 
return home with members of that company he learned of Jones and his 



APPENDIX. 421 

posse, their object, and started at once in pursuit, taking Wood with 
him because he knew Mrs. Branson; he, Abbott, commanding, because 
he was senior officer of the company, calling the meeting, present. 

This military company was commanded by H, F. Saunders. Its rec- 
ords will show that at that time S. C. Smith was first lieutenant and J. 
B. Abbott second lieutenant. 

Mr. Branson was a member, as well as Mr. Dow. If the company 
called the meeting he would have known it as well as Abbott, and so 
would other members of the company. 

Branson told Wood before the meeting tl;at the neighbors called it, 
and in his testimony before the Congressional Committee he so calls it. 
Smith, who visited Branson with Wood at the time and was a member 
of the company and attended the meeting and saw on each occasion 
many of its members, never heard from any of them, nor from Abbott, 
that the meeting was called by that company, and, in fact, all citizens ia 
that region who felt interested took part. No paper published at the 
time and no history of the matter written then gives such description of 
the origin or character of the meeting. 

There were pro-slavery men who thought highly of Dow and were in- 
dignant at his murder, and along the Santa Fe road, and at Palmyra and 
Prairie City, there were many more men than there were members of 
that company who were directly interested, for it was in their neighbor- 
hood. A public meeting, including all classes, would have more influ- 
ence on public opinion in its deliberations than that of a military organi- 
zation, regarded by pro-slavery men as purely partisan, and it is safe to 
say that the company never made such a mistake. 

Mr. Abbott is also reported as saying in that address that there was no 
election of officers by the rescuing party, which we presume was intended 
as a denial of the statement that officers were chosen after the decision 
to go to Lawrence, and he is reported as declaring that no guns were 
cocked and aimed towards each other by members of either party. 

At the meeting in Lawrence on the morning of the rescue, Mr. Wood, 
in the presence of the rescuers, related the details of the meeting where 
Dow was murdered, and of the rescue. On December 19, 1855, twenty- 
two days after the rescue, he wrote a letter from Springfield, 111., giving 
again the detail.^, which were published in the Missouri Democrat and 
copied by the New York Tribtitie. On August 27, 1857, at the request 
of Mr. Wattles, he gave in writing an account of the rescue, which, in 
a condensed form, was published in the Herald of Freedom that year, 
and has for many years been published in full in other histories. The 
testimony in the report of the investigating committee where it relates to 
this matter, the report of Wood's address on the morning of the rescue 
and his two letters, make the documentary history of the event recited 
and written when the facts were fresh, and read and heard by actors 



422 KANSAS. 

therein when the circumstances were strongest in their memory. No 
public denial of any important fact, as related by Wood, was made at 
the time of its publication, and we have the right to assume that his 
record of the proceedings was accepted as true at the time it was made 
by those who acted with him. 

In the letter of December 19, 1855, Wood nowhere claims, as Abbott 
is reported to have said, that he, Wood, was the leader; but he does say 
"two of us" followed the posse to Branson's, and that "they cocked their 
guns and threatened to shoot." "Our men had cocked their guns and 
given them to understand we were in earnest," and "our party then or- 
ganized and marched five miles to Lawrence." 

In his letter to Wattles he says: "Abbott and myself went to Hickory 
Point. As we came to the timber I turned and asked what shall we do 
if we find the rascals at Branson's?" Abbott replied, "You are the 
leader; just as you say." He tells who were elected officers when the 
party organized to go to Lawrence and that guns were aimed and cocked 
on both sides. 

Branson in his testimony, page 1064 of the Report on Kansas Affairs, 
says: "Both parties stood there for some short time with their guns pre- 
sented to each other." 

H. H. Buckley testifies, page 102: "The said sheriff and his posse 
were set upon by about between thirty and forty men, who came out 
from behind a house, all armed with Sharpe's rifles, and presented their 
guns cocked." 

S. N. Hargis, page 104, testified: "The leader of said mob replied to 
said officer that they knew him as Mr. Jones, but not as sheriff of Doug- 
las county," "Said mob stood with their guns cocked and presented at 
the time of said rescue. " . 

Gov. Shannon, page 1105, testifies: "That the fact that S. N. Wood, 
who headed the party that rescued Branson, together with his whole 
command, amounting to between thirty and forty armed men, had 
marched into Lawrence." 

This testimony shows that Wood had so acted at the rescue that the 
pro-slavery men as well as the free-state men recognized him as the 
leader. Neither party would have given him that distinction if he had 
not deserved it. If Abbott had developed as a leader all would as readily 
have recognized it. Wood would not have said "two of us went," and 
"Abbott and myself went," if others had gone. No one since has 
claimed the honor, and Abbott failing to be as generous to them as 
Wood to him, did not name them. Tappan and Smith have written 
that they remember well the election described by Wood, and all now 
living who saw the rescuers march into Lawrence that morning saw 
Wood in the lead and know that he was captain. 



APPENDIX. 423 

MESSAGE OF GOVERNOR ROBINSON, OF KANSAS, TO THE 

NEW LEGISLATURE. 

Fellozu Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives : 

Having been chosen by the people to occupy the executive chair of 
the new State of Kansas, it becomes ray duty, under the constitution, to 
communicate to the General Assembly the condition of affairs of the 
state, and recommend such measures as I shall deem expedient for their 
action. While gratitude to the people for the confidence their suffrages 
evinced, and for the honor bestowed, will induce me to enlist all my 
energies in their service, inexperience in public life, and a lack of ability 
and information, will cause me to speak with diffidence upon the various 
subjects to which your attention will be mvited. 

The organization of a new government is always attended with more or 
less difficulty, and should, under the most favorable circumstances, enlist 
the learning, judgment and prudence, of the wisest men in all its depart- 
ments; the most skillful workmanship is requisite, that each part of the 
complicated machinery may be adapted to its fellow, and that a harmo- 
nious whole, without jar or blemish, may be the result. In Kansas 
especially, is this a most delicate and difficult task. Our citizens are 
from every state in the Union, and from nearly every country on the 
globe, and their institutions, religion, education, habits and tastes, are 
as various as their origin. Also in our midst are several independent 
nations, and on our borders, both west and east, are outside invaders. 

In our mutual endeavors to set in motion a state government, we have 
a common chart for our guide, the Constitution. The duties of the 
General Assembly, as designated by this instrument, are: 

To provide for the Encouragement of Education and Religion; 

The Registration of Electors; 

To provide for the Returns of Elections; 

For the Election of Officers; 

For the Filling of Vacancies; 

For the Number of Senators and Representatives; 

For Apportionment; 

Against Special Legislation; 

For Publication of Laws; 

For Taking the Census; 

For Salaries of Officers; 

For Surveyor General, State Geologist, and Superintendent of Common 
Schools; 

For Judicial Districts and Jurisdiction of Courts; 

For Publication of Decisions of Supreme Court; 

For Duties of Clerk and Reporter of Supreme Court; 

For School Fund, University, Normal Schools, etc.; 



424 KANSAS. 

For State Asylums for Blind, Deaf, Dumb, Insane, Idiots, and the Poor; 

For Houses of Refuge for Juvenile offenders; 

For State General Hospital; 

For Seat of Government and State House; 

For Militia; 

For Finance and Taxation; 

For Counties, County, City and Town Ofiicers; 

For 'Commissioners to arrange Rules of Practice in the Courts of 
Record; 

For Bureau of Statistics and Encouragement of Agriculture; 

To secure the separate Property and Custody of Children to Wife; 

For Election of two United States Senators; 

For Banks and Banking; , 

For Redemption of Certificates of Indebtedness; and for Enforcement 
of the Sixth Section of the Bill of Rights. 

Also, the people, by a separate and direct vote, have instructed the 
Assembly to provide for the exclusion of free negroes. 

Education of the people, common school education, is the palladium 
of our liberties. Without this, free institutions cannot exist; with it, 
tyranny and oppression must disappear. A thorough and efficient system 
of education is a better and cheaper corrective and preventive of poverty, 
degradation and crime, than the poor-house, house of refuge, or peni- 
tentiary. This subject will not fail to receive its full share of your atten- 
tion. That the common school may be put on a permanent basis, the 
proceeds of the school lands, or other educational income, should be 
carefully husbanded, till a fund shall accumulate amply sufficient to give 
to every child in the state a liberal common school education. 

Second only to the common school in importance are the University 
and Normal Schools. For these, also, the constitution suggests that you 
provide at an early day. 

Of the public charitable institutions named in the constitution, a Gen- 
eral State Hospital calls most urgently for consideration. In a new 
country, many must necessarily suffer from sickness and poverty, and, 
in the present unsettled condition of the people, it is eminently proper 
that the state should provide for their relief. 

The subject of finances and taxation is one of primary importance in 
every state, and particularly in a new one. Onerous taxes and large 
indebtedness should be guarded against as far as possible, and economy 
without niggardly parsimony should be the rule of action. For the 
present stale of the finances you are referred to the report of the execu- 
tive committee. 

Exposed as our citizens are to the scalping-knife of the savage on the 
west, and to the revolver and hatchet of the assassin on the east, a 
thorough and early organization of the militia is urgently called for. By 
the constitution, this duty devolves upon the General Assembly. Meas- 



APPENDIX. 425 

ures should at once be taken to encourage the organization of volunteer 
companies, and to procure the arms to which the state is entitled. 

The disposition of the public lands is a matter of serious consideration. 
Under existing laws, they belong to the general government, and are 
used as a source of revenue. The policy of such a use is at least ques- 
tionable. The amount received into the treasury from the sale of public 
lands is inconsiderable, amounting in the aggregate to about two millions 
of dollars annually. 

This sum, distributed among the states where the lands are situated, 
would aid essentially the cause of education, or the establishment of 
charitable institutions, but it is entirely unnecessary in the already over- 
flowing treasury of the general government. Even as a matter of reve- 
nue, the treasury gains nothing by selling the public domain to the 
people, for the principal revenue is derived from the products of the soil, 
and these will be increased as the number of land-holders increases, and 
in proportion to the capital invested in its cultivation. The one dollar 
and twenty-five cents per acre, laid out on land, will produce far more 
revenue to the government in a few years, than if deposited in the treas- 
ury. The true policy of any government is to give, to every citizen who 
will cultivate it, a farm without price, and secure it to him for a perma- 
nent homestead. Especially should the citizen who deprives himself of 
the blessings of home and civilization for a time, to reclaim the wilder, 
ness that it may be added to the commonwealth, be allowed his land 
gratis. 

But if the land must be sold, and the proceeds applied to defray ex- 
penses of government, the state should be the recipient and not the 
general government. Every new state must incur extraordinary expenses 
in setting its government in motion. It has its public edifices, — State- 
house, Asylums, Penitentiary, Universities, School-houses, Railroads, etc., 
to construct, and limited means at command. Should Congress, in its 
wisdom, donate, as we have reason to believe it will, all the public lands 
of Kansas to the state, it will then be the duty of the assembly to dispose 
of them. In such an event, by donating one hundred and sixty acres as 
a homestead to each resident of five years, and allowing no one person 
to purchase of the state more than one hundred and sixty acres addition- 
al, the state would become rapidly settled, and at the same time secure a 
fund for educational and other purposes equal to its necessities. 

The indiscriminate sale of intoxicating drinks in a state like Kansas, 
where are numerous Indian tribes, is productive of much mischief. 
Some tribes within our border are still uncivilized, and indulge their 
appetites without restraint, while many of the other tribes are equally 
unfortunate. It is a duty we owe to the Indians, that we not only culti- 
vate the most friendly intercourse, but that we protect him from injury; 
and this subject should not be overlooked by the General Assembly. 



426 KANSAS. 

The use of intoxicating drinks, as a beverage, impairs the health, 
morals, good order and prosperity, of any community, and the traffic in 
them is an unmitigated evil, and it is for the Legislature in its wisdom 
to adopt such measures as shall best secure the public welfare. 

It will be remembered that a skeleton of a government still exists in 
our midst, under the territorial form, and although this was but the fore- 
shadowing of a new and better covenant, collision with it should be 
carefully guarded against. A territorial government is transient in its 
nature, only waiting the action of the people to form a government of 
their own. This action has been taken by the people of Kansas, and it 
only remains for the General Government to suspend its territorial ap- 
propriations, recall its officers, and admit Kansas into the Union as a 
sovereign state. 

The reasons why the territorial government should be suspended and 
Kansas admitted into the Union as a state, are various. In the first place, 
it is not a government of the people. The executive and judicial officers 
are imposed upon the people by a distant power, and the officers thus 
imposed are foreign to our soil, and are accountable, not to the people, 
but to an executive two thousand miles distant. American citizens have 
for a long time been accustomed to govern themselves, and to have a 
voice in the choice of their officers; but, in the territorial government, 
they not only have no voice in choosing some of their officers, but are 
deprived of a vote for the officers who appoint them. 

Again: governments are instituted for the good and protection of the 
governed; but the territorial government of Kansas has been, and still 
is, an instrument of oppression and tyranny unequalled in the history of 
our republic. The only officers that attempted to administer the laws 
impartially have been removed, and persons substituted who have aided 
in our subjugation. Such has been the conduct of the officers and the 
people of a neighboring state, either intentionally or otherwise, that Kan- 
sas, to-day, is without a single law enacted by the people of the territory. 
Not a man in the country will attempt to deny that every election had 
under the territorial government was carried by armed invaders from an 
adjoining state, and for the purpose of enacting laws in opposition to the 
known wishes of the people. 

The territorial government should be withdrawn, because it is inopera- 
tive. The officers of the law permit all manner of outrages and crimes 
to be perpetrated by the invaders and their friends with impunity, while 
the citizens proper are naturally law-abiding and order loving, disposed 
rather to suffer than do wrong. Several of the most aggravated murders 
on record have been committed, but as long as the murders are on the 
side of the oppressors, no notice is taken of them. Not one of the 
whole number has been brought to justice, and not one will be, by the 
territorial officers. While the marauders are thus in open violation of 



APPENDIX. 



427 



all law, nine-tenths of the people scorn to recognize as law the enact- 
ments of a foreign body of men, and would sooner lose their right arm 
than bring action in one of their misnamed courts. Americans can suffer 
death, but not dishonor; and sooner than the people will consent to 
recognize the edicts of lawless invaders as laws, their blood will mingle 
with the waters of the Kansas, and this Union will be rolled together in 
civil strife. 

Not only is this territorial government the instrument of oppression 
and subjugation of the people, but under it there is no hope of relief. 
The organic act permits the Legislature to prescribe the qualification of 
voters, and the so-called Legislature has provided that no man shall vote 
in any election who will not bow the knee to the dark image of slavery, 
and'appointed officers for the term of four years to see that this provision 
is carried out. Thus nine-tenths of the citizens are disfranchised and 
debarred from acting under the territorial government if they would. 

Even if allowed to vote, the chief executive of the country says he has 
no power to protect the ballot-box from invaders, and if the people 
organize to protect themselves, his appointees intimate that they must 
be disarmed and put down; hence, whether allowed to vote or not, there 
is no opportunity for the people of the territory to rule under the present 
territorial government. Indeed, the laws are so made and construed 
that the citizens of a neighboring state are legal voters in Kansas, and of 
course no United States force can be brought against them. They are 
by law entitled to invade us and control our elections. 

According to the organic act the people have a right to elect a Legisla- 
ture, and that Legislature has a right to make laws, establish courts, and 
do everything but choose their executive and supreme judicial officers. 
If they have the right to do the one, they undoubtedly should have the 
right to do the other. The principle of ' 'squatter sovereignty, " upon which 
this act is said to be based, knows no distinction between the power to 
legislate and the power to adjudicate or execute. If the right of one 
department of the government is inherent in the people, so is the other. 
On this subject there is high authority. Gen. Cass, in the Senate, said: 
"The government of the United States is one of limited authority, vested 
with no powers not expressly granted or not necessary to the proper exe- 
cution of such as are." 

"There is no provision in the constitution granting any powers of legis- 
lation over the 'territory or other property of the United States,' except 
such as relates to its regulation and disposition. Political jurisdiction is 
entirely withheld, nor is there any just implication which can supply this 
defect of original authority." 

Again he says, "I shall vote for the entire interdiction of all federal 
action over this general question, under any circumstances that may 
occur." But the executive and judiciary of Kansas are the creatures of 



428 KANSAS 

the 'federal government, and under its control, and the governor has a 
negative legislative power equal to two-thirds of both branches of the 
Legislature, leaving to the people of the territory only one-third of one 
of three departments of government, and to the general government all of 
two departments, and two-thirds of the other. 

Also, he says, "Leave the people who will be affected by this question 
(slavery), to adjust it upon their own responsibility and in their own 
manner, and we shall render another tribute to the original principles of 
our own government, and furnish another guaranty for its permanency 
and prosperity." But how can this or any other question be adjusted 
by the people, while ruled by a foreign executive and judiciary? 

Mr Douglas says, "I have always held that the people have a right to 
settle these questions as they choose, not only when they come into the 
Union as a state, but that they should be permitted to do so while a ter- 
ritory." If the people have this right, then the federal government has 
no right to interfere with it, and the people of Kansas have a right to 
demand that the present territorial government of Kansas be withdrawn, 
and that they be allowed to choose all their officers. 

Mr. Henn, of Iowa, in Congress, said, "I would that Congress would 
recognize the doctrine of 'squatter sovereignty' in its length and breadth, 
that the citizen, wherever he may settle, if on American soil, shall have 
all the rights and privileges of citizenship, and be consulted by executives 
as well as by representatives. This would be right. This would be 
simple justice. It is the doctrine that is broadly asserted, and with firm- 
ness maintained, by the fathers of our republic." 

In the organic act of the territory, section 14, is the following; "It 
being the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into 
any territory or state, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the feofle 
thereof perfectly free to form ajid regulate their domestic institu- 
tions in their oivn -tua\\ subject only to the constitution of the United 
States." 

But how can this "intent" be carried out with an executive and judi- 
ciary, and two-thirds of the legislative power, in opposition to the will 
of the people, and with an overwhelming invasion at every election by 
permission of these officers? 

In the President's annual message to Congress, for the current year, he 
says, "In the counsels of Congress there was manifested extreme antag- 
onism of opinion and action between some representatives who sought, 
by the abusive and unconstitutional employment of the legislative powers 
of the government, to interfere in the condition of inchoate states, and 
to impose their own social theories upon the latter; and other representa- 
tives, who repelled interposition of the general government in this 
respect, and maintained the self-constituted rights of the states. In 
truth, the thing attempted was in form alone the action of the general 



APPENDIX. 



429 



government, while in reality it was the endeavor, by abuse of legislative 
power to force the ideas of internal policy, entertained by particular 
states, upon allied independent states. Once more the constitution and 
the Union triumphed signally. The new territories were organized 
without restrictions on the disputed point, and were thus left to judge in 
that particular for themselves." 

If it would have been an "abuse of legislative power" for Congress to 
"force the ideas of internal policy entertained by particular states" upon 
Kansas, by what reasoning does he justify the executive in the exercise 
of that power? That the officials of his appointment are to-day endeav- 
oring to do this very thing, against the sentiment of a large majority of 
the people, cannot admit of a doubt. 

Again he says, "The measure of its repeal (Missouri Compromise) was 
the final consummation and complete recognition of the principle, that no 
portion of the United States shall undertake, through assumption of the 
powers of the general government, to dictate the social institutions of 
any other portion." 

The people of Kansas have reason to feel that the "complete recogni- 
tion" of the principle, unless carried into practice, is of no avail to them, 
and that the recognition of this principle by Congress, while the opposite 
is acted upon by the executive, would be simple mockery. 

Once more; "If the friends of the constitution are to have another 
struggle, its enemies could not present a more acceptable issue than that 
of a state, whose constitution clearly embraces a republican form of gov- 
ernment, being excluded from the Union because its domestic institutions 
may not in all respects comport with the ideas of what is wise and expe- 
dient entertained in some other state." "If a new state, formed from 
the territory of the United States, be absolutely excluded from admission 
therein, that fact itself, constitutes the disruption of union between it 
and the other states. But the process of dissolution could not stop there. 
Would not a sectional decision, producing such a result by a majority of 
votes, either northern or southern, of necessity drive out the oppressed 
and aggrieved minority, and place in presence of each other two irrecon- 
cilably hostile confederations?" 

Thus it will be seen, by the highest democratic authority in the coun- 
try, that the people of Kansas have a right to demand the removal of the 
present oppressive territorial government, and also that they be admitted 
into the Union as an equal and independent state. 

Knowing that one great party in Congress, with the President at its 
head, was in principle committed to our defence, and believing that 
many from the other parties would, if not from principle, as an act of 
justice, be induced to look upon us with favor, we had a right to antici- 
pate a speedy termination of our present thraldom. However, owing to 
an apparent misunderstanding of the constitutional movements in Kan- 



43° KANSAS. 

sas, the President intimates in a special message that Congress must in- 
terfere and make the people undo what, with great care and expense, 
they have so well done. This message, as it refers exclusively to Kansas, 
should receive some attention from the General Assembly. Kansas men, 
"squatter sovereignty" men, cannot fail to be somewhat surprised at its 
purport. It is somewhat belligerent in its tone, threatening to bring 
'against the people of Kansas the army and navy of the United States; 
and, should this force be inadequate to the task, the militia of the several 
states are to be brought into requisition to compel the people to submit 
to what they do not recognize as laws, and to laws, according to his own 
showing, the people of Missouri, with the aid of the executive which he 
appointed, have enacted. 

But it is to be hoped that, by the time his forces are raised and marched 
into the territory, he will find, like His Excellency Governor Shannon, 
that the people are not so deserving of annihilation as he had supposed. 

The President gives the details of the invasion of Kansas and the 
Governor's connection therewith, and does not deny that the so-called 
territorial Legislature was elected by the people of Missouri; but because 
the Governor, his appointee, chose to grant certificates of election to a 
majority of persons elected by the people of a neighboring state, there- 
fore their laws are binding upon the people. To strengthen his argu- 
ment, he might have accused the Governor of still further complicity 
with the invaders, and have said that although this territory is hundreds 
of miles in extent, and the people were politically unorganized, yet he 
gave them but four days in which to contest the election, and would not 
extend the time one hour; for it is said that a protest arrived at one 
o'clock on the morning of the fifth day, which, had it been regarded, 
would have changed five seats in the Legislature; but it was too late by 
one hour, and could not be received. 

The argument of the President may be good against any objection to 
the acts of the Legislature on his part, as, in the first place, he refused 
to protect the ballot-box from fraud, and, in the second place, so far as 
lay in his power, his appointee legalized it; but is it good against the 
people? 

The organic act provides for a Legislature to be elected from, and by, 
the voters; and a voter is to be "an actual resident of said territory;" and 
if any other set of men, either with or without the sanction of the execu- 
tive, claim to be the Legislature, are the people bound to regard them as 
such? Also, this act says, "It is the true intent and meaning of this act 
to leave the people of the territory perfectly free to form and regulate 
their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the consti- 
tution of the United States," not subject to the people of Missouri, or the 
executive, or both of them together. Mow can the true intent of this 
law be carried out by a Legislature elected as was that on the thirtieth 



APPENDIX. 



431 



of March last? Yet that Legislature, elected from and by the people of 
a neighboring state, have assumed to pass laws for the people of Kan- 
sas, and also to "legislate slavery into the territory, " which Congress 
itself professed not to have the right to do; and these are the so-called 
laws that the President says must be enforced, even though it requires 
all the army and navy of the United States and the militia of the several 
states. Undoubtedly one-half of this force will be all-sufficient to enable 
him to enforce any process, or to chop, shoot and hang all the inhabit- 
ants. But all the armies and navies in the world could not make the 
people believe he had a right to do it, or that the enactments of that bor- 
der Legislature were binding upon the people of Kansas. If squatter 
sovereignty means simply that Congress has no right to interfere with 
the affairs of a territory, but that the executive and the people of another 
state have, then most certainly that doctrine will be very unpopular in 
Kansas. 

Other reasons might be given to show that no legal Legislatures have 
ever passed laws in Kansas besides the above, as the removal of the sit- 
tings from Pawnee to the Shawnee mission, which is on the Shawnee 
Reserve, as it is understood, and can, consequently, "constitute no part 
of the territory of Kansas," The organic act provides that "the persons 
having the highest number of legal votes in each district for members 
of the Council (or House of Representatives) shall be declared by the 
Governor to be duly elected." From this decision there is no appeal, 
according to the act; yet nine persons, declared to be duly elected by 
the Governor, were ejected by the Legislature, and others admitted. 
But one person, it is believed, was duly elected by the legal voters of the 
territory, and he resigned his seat, regarding the whole body illegal. 
His seat was filled without an election, and by the Legislature; hence, 
probably, not one of the members of the body could have received the 
suffrages of the legal voters in the districts they pretended to represent. 

It is the enactments of such a body of men that the army, navy and 
militia of the country are to enforce upon the people, who were told they 
should "be free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their 
own way;" a body of men elected by a neighboring state; who did not sit 
at the seat of government as required; who did sit at the Shawnee Mis- 
sion, understood to form no part of the territory of Kansas; who turned 
out nine cf its legally elected members and received in their stead nine 
persons not legally elected; who filled a vacancy by appointment, and 
not by election of the voters of the district, etc., to say nothing of the 
Draconian character of the enactments. 

The President says, "The constitutionaj means of relieving the people 
of unjust administrations and laws, by a change of public agents, and by 
repeal, are ample." This is usually the case and ought always to be so; 
but the case of Kansas is an exception. The administration of Kansas 



432 KANSAS. 

has its head at Washington, and we have not so much as a vote in favor 
of its continuance or removal; while the repeal of any laws, under pres- 
ent arrangements, by the people, is out of the question, as the Legisla- 
ture has disfranchised a large majority of them. No man, in favor of a 
change or repeal of certain laws, can vote under our new order of things; 
and, consequently, no peaceable way of establishing a government of the 
people is left but to form a state constitution, and ask for admission into 
the Union. This has been done; but the President objects to our consti- 
tution, and calls the movement for a state government revolutionary, and 
intimates that the forces of the Union must if necessary, be brought against 
it, although he admits that it was not revolutionary for other territories 
to do precisely what we have done — as California, Michigan, and others. 
His reason is, that the constitution of Kansas was formed by a party, 
and not by the whole people. What are the facts? A bill, calling for a 
convention for the formation of a state constitution, is said to have passed 
through one house of the Mission Legislature, and was defeated in the 
other only because they feared the result would be a free state. In July 
and August a paper was circulated for signatures of all such persons as 
were desirous of forming a state government, and between one and two 
thousand persons signed it. August 15th, a general mass meeting of citi- 
zens irrespective of party, was held at Lawrence, pursuant to a public 
call, signed "Many Citizens," "to take into consideration the propriety 
of calling a Territorial Delegate Convention, preliminary to the formation 
of a state government, and other subjects of public interest." At this 
meeting all parties participated, and the following preamble and resolu- 
tion were adopted, with but one dissenting voice, and that was an ac- 
knowledged disunion abolitionist, the only one of that party at the 
meeting. 

"Whereas, The people of Kansas Territory have been, since its set- 
tlement, and now are, without any law-making power; therefore, be it 

"Resolved, That we, the people of Kansas, in mass meeting assenbled, 
irrespective of party distinctions, influenced by a common necessity, and 
greatly desirous of promoting the common good, do hereby call upon 
and request all bona fide citizens of Kansas Territory, of whatever polit- 
ical views or predilections, to counsel together in their respective election 
districts, and in mass convention, or otherwise, elect three delegates for 
each representative to which such district is entitled, in the House of 
Representatives or the Legislative Assembly, by proclamation of Gov. 
Reeder, of date loth March, 1855; said delegates to assemble in conven- 
tion at the town of Topeka, on the 19th day of September, 1855, then 
and there to consider and determine upon all subjects of public interest, 
and particularly upon that having reference to the .speedy formation of 
a state constitution, with an intention of an immediate application to be 
admitted as a state into the Union of the 'United States of America.' " 



APPENDIX. 



433 



This was the first public action taken by the people in their sovereign 
capacity upon this subject, and all parties and sects participated. 

The next action was at a party convention held at Big Springs on the 
5th and 6th of September. A committee on state organization was ap- 
pointed, and made the following report: 

"Your committee, after considering the propriety of taking preliminary 
steps to framing a constitution, and applying for admission as a state into 
the Union, beg leave to report that, under the present circumstances, 
they deem the movement untimely and inexpedient." 

The following was offered as a substitute for the report: 

"Resolved, That this convention, in view of its recent repudiation of 
the acts of the so-called Kansas Legislative Assembly, respond most 
heartily to the call made by the people's convention of the 15th ult., for 
a Delegate Convention of the people of Kansas Territory, to be held at 
Topeka on the igth inst., to consider the propriety of the formation of a 
state constitution, and such other matters as may legitimately come 
before it. " This substitute was agreed to. 

Thus it appears that this party convention simply approved of the 
action of the citizens' convention at Lawrence, and let the matter rest. 

A Delegate Convention, irrespective of party, was held at Topeka, 
September 19th and 20th, agreeable to the call of the mass convention 
of the 15th of August, and the following preamble and resolution were 
unanimously adopted: 

"Whereas, the Constitution of the United States guarantees to the 
people of this republic the right of assembling together in a peaceable 
manner for the common good, to establish justice, ensure domestic tran- 
quility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, 
and secure the blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity; and 
whereas the citizens of Kansas Territory were prevented from electing 
members of a Legislative Assembly, in pursuance of a proclamation of 
Gov. Reeder, on the thirtieth of March last, by invading forces from 
foreign states coming into the territory, and forcing upon the people a 
Legislature of non-residents, and others, inimical to the interests of the 
people of Kansas Territory, defeating the object of the organic act, in 
consequence of which the territorial government became a perfect fail- 
ure, and the people were left without any legal government, until their 
patience has become exhausted, and endurance ceases to be a virtue; and 
they are compelled to resort to the only remedy left — that of forming a 
goverment for themselves; therefore, 

"Resolved, By the people of Kansas Territory, in Delegate Conven- 
tion assembled, That an election shall be held in the several election pre- 
cincts of this territory, on the second Tuesday of October next, under 
the regulations and restrictions hereinafter imposed, for members of a 
convention to form a constitution, adopt a bill of rights for the people of 



434 KANSAS. 

Kansas, and take all needful measures for organizing a state government, 
preparatory to the admission of Kansas into the Union as a state." 

At this convention a Territorial Executive Committee was appointed, 
and the committee, in accordance with the instructions of the con%-en- 
tion, issued a proclamation, commencing as follows: 

"to the legal voters of KANSAS. 

"Whereas the territorial government, as now constituted for Kansas, 
has proved a failure — squatter sovereignty under its workings a miserable 
delusion — in proof of which it is only necessary to refer to our past his- 
tory, and our present deplorable condition; — our ballot-boxes have been 
taken possession of by bands of armed men from foreign states, and our 
people forcibly driven therefrom; persons attempted to be foisted upon 
us as members of a so-called Legislature, unacquainted with our wants, 
and hostile to our best interests, some of them never residents of our 
territory; misnamed lazes passed, and now attempted to be enforced by 
the aid of citizens of foreign states, of the most oppressive, tyrannical, 
and insulting character; the right of suffrage taken from us; debarred 
from the privilege of a voice in the election of even the most insignificant 
officers; the right of free speech stifled; the muzzling of the press at- 
tempted; — and whereas longer forbearance with such oppression has 
ceased to be a virtue; and whereas the people of this country have here- 
tofore exercised the right of changing their form of government when it 
became oppressive, and have, at all times, conceded this right to the 
people in this and all other governments; and whereas a territorial form 
of government is unknown to the constitution, and is the mere creature 
of necessity, awaiting the action of the people; and whereas the debasing 
character of the slavery, which now involves us, impels us to action, and 
leaves us the only legal and peaceful alternative— the immediate estab- 
lishment of a state government; and whereas the organic act^ fails in 
pointing out the course to be adopted in an emergency like ours; there- 
fore, you are requested to meet at your several precincts in said territory 
hereinafter mentioned, on the second Tuesday of October next, it being 
the ninth day of said month, and then and there cast your ballots for 
members of a convention, to meet at Topeka on the fourth Tuesday of 
October next, to form a constitution, adopt a bill of rights for the people 
of Kansas, and take all needful measures for organizing a state govern- 
ment preparatory to the admission of Kansas into the Union as a State." 

On the fourth Tuesday of October, the Constitutional Convention as- 
sembled at Topeka, and drafted a constitution, which was submitted to 
the people on the fifteenth of December, and by them approved, by a 
very large majority — men of all parties voting. 

Such, in brief, is the history of the constitutional movement in Kansas; 
and, if this is a party movement, it is difficult to see in what way a consti- 



APPENDIX. 435 

tution can be framed and adopted not open to ^his charge. If the people 
or any portion of them failed to participate, it was their own fault, and 
not the fault of those who were active. Democrats, Hards and Softs, 
Whigs, Hunkers and Liberals, Republicans, Pro-Slavery and Anti- 
Slavery men of all shades participated in the formation of the state gov- 
ernment, and if it be a party movement at all, it certainly cannot be a 
movement of one party alone. In a republican government, the majority 
has no power to compel the minority to vote on any question; neither 
has the minority a right to object to the action of the majority, because 
they did not choose to act with them. 

The President says; "No principle of public law, no practice or pre- 
cedent under the constitution of the United States, no rule of reason, 
right or common sense, confers any such power as that now claimed by 
a mere party in the territory. In fact, what has been done is of a revo- 
lutionary character. It will become treasonable insurrection if it reach 
the length of organized resistance by force to the fundamental or any 
other federal law, and to the authority of the general government." 

"No principle of public law?" What is the principle of squatter sov- 
ereignty, then? "No precedent?" What did Michigan, California, and 
other new states do? "No rule of reason, right, or common sense?" Is 
popular sovereignty unreasonable, unjust and nonsensical? Suppose the 
party comprise an overwhelming majority of the people, what then? 

James Christian, Esq., a very honorable and high-minded pro-slavery 
gentleman, writes to a friend in Kentucky as follows: "I believe I in- 
formed you before that I have been appointed clerk of this (Douglas) 
county, under the territorial Legislature; but we are in such a horrible 
state of confusion in regard to the laws that it don't pay anything. The 
free-soilers are in a large majority in the territory, and they are deter- 
mined to pay no regard to the laws; consequently they will not sue nor 
have any recording done, so my office is only in name. It is the same 
all over the territory." 

According to the President, this "large majority" can have no rights, 
because they happen to think alike on a certain subject, or belong to the 
same "party." It was formerly a principle of democracy that the ma- 
jority — especially "large majorities" — should rule: but times must have 
changed. 

If this "large majority" persist in setting in motion a state government, 
it will be "treasonable." It was not so, however, in Michigan, Califor- 
nia, and other states. But the people of Kansas do not propose to reach 
the point of "organized resistance by force to the fundamental or any 
other federal law, and to the authority of the general govenment," unless 
our state, "whose constitution clearly embraces a republican form of 
government, is excluded from the Union because its domestic institutions 



436 KANSAS. 

may not, in all respects, comport with the ideas of what is wise and ex- 
pedient, entertained in another state " 

If our stale "be absolutely excluded from admission therein, that fact 
of itself {itiay) constitute the disruption of union between it and the other 
states. But the process of dissolution could not stop there," and we 
should have the chief executive on cur side in such an event. But no 
such result is to be anticipated. When the President fully understands 
our case, he can do no less than withdraw his recommendation for an 
enabling act to form another constitution, and Congress will admit us 
without delay. 

Also we have confidence that no attempt will be made by the federal 
authorities to enforce the enactments of a foreign Legislature upon the 
people of Kansas. Mr. Christian, the pro-slavery clerk of Douglas 
county, says, the people of Missouri came into the territory on the thir- 
tieth of March last, "bearing with them their peculiar institutions — 
bowie-knives, pistols and whiskey — to the amount of five or six thous- 
and, carried the election by storm, and elected every pro-slavery candi- 
date that was in the field, by overwhelming majorities, thus securing 
every member of Council and House of Representatives, in some in- 
stances driving from their seats the judges appointed by the governor, 
and placing judges from their own r umber in their stead, who paid no 
regard to the instructions of the executive," etc. 

It cannot be that the President, after permitting the people of another 
state to take from the legal voters their constitutional and organic rights, 
will add to the outrage by compelling the people of Kansas to submit to 
their authority and obe^' their enactments. It is bad enough to be de- 
prived of the right to make laws for ourselves, but it is worse to be com- 
pelled to submit to the laws of those who deprived us of that right. 
Although there has been and there will be no organized resistance to the 
self-styled territorial Legislature, yet nine men out of every ten spurn it 
with contempt as a gro.ss outrage upon American citizens, and it is highly 
proper for the General Assembly to memorialize Congress upon this 
subject, as with reference to the admission of the state into the Union. 

The President apologizes for the frequent invasions of Kansas, on the 
ground that some northern people talked about the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise, and subjects connected with the extension of negro bond- 
age, and because an emigrant aid association had been formed. 

The people of this country have been in the habit of talking about the 
affairs of government ever since the Mayflower discharged her cargo on 
Plymouth Rock, but this is the first time that it has been considered an 
apology for the invasion of a distant state or territory. If the people of 
Kansas were accountable for the loquacity of the North or the silence of 
the South, the case might be different. 

Emigrant aid associations are nothing new in the United States. When 



APPENDIX. 437 

California was first opened to settlement the same kind of associations 
were formed, with only this difference: in one case, each party had an 
agent of its own for the purpose of procuring tickets, arranging details, 
etc.; while in the other, all the parties have a common agent. There is, 
however, connected with the aid society for Kansas emigrants, a stock 
company, for the purpose of erecting mills, hotels, etc., in the new 
country; but the agent of this society will purchase tickets for a slave- 
holder as soon as for a free-state man, and the investments are for the 
benefit of all settlers alike. No questions are asked, and no distinctions 
are made. 

Had the President visited Western Missouri before any aid society had 
been formed at the East, he might have found a secret, oath-bound asso- 
ciation, pledged to make Kansas a slave state, peaceably if they could, 
forcibly if they must. This society has been in active operation since 
its inception, and now threatens to deluge Kansas with the blood of 
American citizens, for the crime of preferring a free to a slave state. 

Also, it is only necessary to read a few southern journals to see ac- 
counts in different parts of the South, not of emigrant aid societies, but 
of emigrant buying or hiring societies, which do not simply procure 
tickets for the emigrants, at cost, irrespective of party or condition, but 
which pay the fare and expenses of the right kind of emigrants, and 
support them in Kansas one year, more or less. However it may be, the 
"king can do no wrong," although it may be wrong for the common peo- 
ple to do as the king does. 

The people of Kansas will not object to aid societies, whether North 
or South, so long as they treat all parties alike. Emigrants from all 
parts of the country are received with a hearty welcome, and the invest- 
ment of capital, whether eastern or western, northern or southern, is 
greatly needed. 

The settlers of Kansas have suffered severe losses and injury from re- 
peated invasions from a neighboring state, and it is highly proper that 
Congress be memorialized upon this subject. Especially should the gen- 
eral government repair the injury it has inflicted. All the invasions 
have been permitted by the officers of the government, without any 
opposition, while at least one was invited by them. It is the duty of 
the federal government to protect infant territories in their rights; but 
Kansas has not only not been protected, but it has been actually op- 
pressed by those whose duty it was to defend it. 

It is unjust to any community to send among them officers, with gov- 
ernment patronage, whose political sentiments are opposed to the senti- 
ments of the people, particularly when those officers mount the stump 
and shoulder the rifle for the purpose of crushing out all who differ from 
them. Some of the federal officers of Kansas are charged with undigni- 
fied conduct, and one of them, at least, with high crimes; and it is the 



438 KANSAS. 

duty of the Legislature to memorialize the President, that our citizens 
may be protected in their lives and inalienable rights, and from unwar- 
rantable interference' of officials in the management of their internal 
affairs. It is manifestly improper for the federal officers to dictate into, 
or out of Kansas, an institution over which Congress professes to have 
no authority. 

It is understood that the deputy marshal has private instructions to 
arrest the members of the Legislature, and the state officers, for treason, 
as soon as this address is received by you. In such an event, of course, 
no resistance will be offered to the officer. Men who are ready to defend 
their own and their country's honor with their lives, can never object to 
a legal investigation into their actions, nor to suffer any punishment their 
conduct may merit. We should be unworthy the constituency we rep- 
resent, did we shrink even from martyrdom on the scaffold, or at the 
stake, should duty require it. Should the blood of Collins and Dow, of 
Barber and Brown, be insufficient to quench the thirst of the President 
and his accomplices, in the hollow mockery of "squatter sovereignty'- 
they are practicing upon the people of Kansas, then more victims must 
be furnished. Let what will come, not a finger should be raised against 
the federal authority, until there shall be no hope of relief but in revo- 
lation. 

The task imposed upon us is a difficult one; but with mutual co-opera- 
tion, and a firm reliance on His wisdom who makes "the wrath of man 
praise him," we may hope to inaugurate a government that shall not be 
unworthy of the country and the age in which we live. 

Topeka, March 4th, 1856. C. Robinson. 



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